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PRINCIPLES   AND   METHODS 

OF 

TEACHING   READING 


■J'^^f^ 


THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

NBW  VORK    •    BOSTON   •    CHICAGO 
DALLAS   •    SAN    FRANCISCO 

MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  Limited 

LONDON    •    BOMBAY   •    CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNE 

THE  MACMILLAN  CO.  OF  CANADA,  Ltd. 

TORONTO 


PRINCIPLES  AND  METHODS 

OF 

TEACHING    READING 


BY 

JOSEPH    S.   TAYLOR,   Pd.D. 

DISTRICT   SUPERINTENDENT   OF   SCHOOLS,    NEW   YORK 

AUTHOR   OF  "ART  OF  CLASS   MANAGEMENT  AND   DISCIPLINE" 

"COMPOSITION   IN  THE  ELEMENTARY   SCHOOL,"   "WORD 

STUDY  IN  THE  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOL,"   "GRADED 

MOVEMENT  WRITING   FOR   BEGINNERS,"  ETC. 


THE    MACMILLAN   COMPANY 
1912 

All  riMs  reserved 


Copyright,  1912, 
By  the  macmillan  company. 


Set  up  and  electrotyped.     Published  June,  1912. 


Norisoat)  ^^ress 

J,  8.  Cnshlng  Co.  —  Uerwick  <fe  Smith  Co. 

Norwood,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 


PREFACE 

An  artistic  reading  teacher  is  one  of  the  most 
valuable  assets  of  a  school.  She  is  as  rare  as 
wisdom,  which  "  the  gold  and  the  crystal  can 
not  equal."  Among  a  thousand  instructors  of 
youth  how  few  there  be  who  are  cunning  in 
the  art  of  teaching  beginners  to  read  !  A  prin- 
cipal who  possesses  one  of  these  rare  treasures 
can  better  afford  to  lose  three  capable  assis- 
tants from  the  top  of  the  school  than  this  one 
at  the  bottom.  It  passes  all  understanding  why 
school  authorities  continue  to  give  the  greatest 
rewards  for  the  commonest  of  gifts  and  pro- 
vide no  encouragement  for  the  rarest.  If,  by 
any  accident  or  effort  or  natural  endowment,  a 
teacher  becomes  an  artist  in  a  first-year  grade, 
she  can  remain  there  only  by  sacrificing  her 
pecuniary  interest.  In  consequence  of  the  con- 
ditions just  mentioned,  there  is  a  steady  exodus 
from  the  lower  to  the  higher  grades.  Thus  the 
principal    is    obliged   to  train   large   numbers  of 


VI  PREFACE 

raw  recruits  in  low-grade  work.  The  reading 
problem  is  tlie  most  important  and  tlie  most 
difficult  of  all.  A  desire  to  contribute  some 
small  share  of  inspiration  and  guidance  for  this 
period  of  apprenticeship  is  responsible  for  the 
appearance  of  the  present  volume. 

The  author  has  collected  into  convenient  form 
opinions,  practices,  principles,  methods,  devices, 
and  experimental  discoveries,  widely  scattered  in 
books  and  periodicals,  which,  he  ventures  to 
hope,  will  be  useful  to  students  of  education  as 
well  as  to  teachers  in  the  service.  The  first 
chapter  deals  with  reading  as  a  mental  process. 
It  traces  the  various  steps  by  which  a  child 
learns  to  talk  and  shows  that  learning  to  read 
is  essentially  a  matter  of  association.  The  sec- 
ond chapter  analyzes  the  physiological  factors 
involved  in  oral  and  written  speech  and  gives  the 
results  of  recent  researches  on  eye  movements 
in  reading.  Chapter  III  formulates  the  prin- 
ciples deduced  from  the  studies  of  the  first  two 
chapters.  These  principles  are  the  raw  material 
of  the  reading  method  expounded  in  Chapter  V. 
In  the  fourth  .chapter  the  ends  which  the  read- 
ing  teacher  has  in  view  in   the    several    grades 


PREFACE  vii 

of  the  school  course  are  discussed.  A  sharp 
distinction  is  made  between  the  mechanics  of 
reading  and  reading  as  literature.  Chapter  V 
presents  the  details  of  method  in  reading.  It 
undertakes  to  lay  down  the  principles  governing 
the  most  approved  current  practice,  and  tells 
the  novice  how  to  proceed  in  teaching  sounds, 
phonograms,  blends,  and  sight  words.  It  treats 
reading  under  the  dual  aspect  of  impression  and 
expression,  and  sets  forth  the  elements  and 
methods  peculiar  to  each  phase.  The  sixth 
chapter  presents  the  results  of  a  study  made 
by  the  author  on  the  amount  of  matter  that 
may  profitably  be  read  in  each  of  the  eight  years 
of  an  elementary  school.  The  inferences  are 
based  upon  the  experience  of  some  seven  hun- 
dred teachers  and  about  thirty  thousand  children. 
This  study  is  followed  by  a  discussion  of  the 
method  of  testing  children  in  reading.  The 
next  chapter  gives  a  brief  summary  of  the  hy- 
giene of  reading,  covering  such  items  as  paper, 
type,  line,  lighting,  eye  strain,  and  home  study. 
A  list  of  the  authorities  consulted  in  the  prepa- 
ration of  the  book  concludes  the  volume. 

The   author   gratefully   acknowledges    his    in- 


viii  PREFACE 

dobtedness  to  Professor  Robert  MacDougall,  of 
New  York  University,  for  reading  the  manu- 
script of  the  first  two  chapters  and  making  valu- 
able suggestions ;  to  Dr.  Edgar  Dubs  Shimer, 
District  Superintendent  of  Schools,  New  York, 
for  reading  a  portion  of  the  manuscript  and 
giving  permission  to  quote  from  his  personal 
letters ;  to  Educational  Review  for  permission 
to  republish  Chapter  VI,  which  first  appeared 
in  its  columns ;  to  Charles  Scribner's  Sons  for 
permission  to  reproduce  an  illustration  from 
Ladd  and  Woodworth's  Elements  of  Physio- 
logical Psychology ;  and  to  Dr.  J.  McKeen 
Cattell  for  permission  to  reproduce  three  charts 
from   Dearborn's  Psychology  of  Reading. 

JOSEPH   S.   TAYLOR. 
New  York,  February  i,  1912. 


TABLE   OF   CONTENTS 


CHAPTER   I 

PAGE 

/    The  Psychology  of  Reading    .... 

I 

I. 

Stages  of  Infantile  Language 

2 

(i)  The  Emotional  Stage 

2 

(a)  Importance  of  Gesture    . 

3 

(2)  The  Babbling  Stage 

5 

(3)  The  Chattering  Stage 

8 

(4)  The  Talking  Stage  .... 

8 

2. 

Kinds  of  Words  Used  by  Children 

9 

3- 

Number  of  Words  Used  by  Children  . 

II 

4- 

Visual  Language          ..... 

12 

5- 

Reading  a  Form  of  Association  . 

•       14 

6. 

Laws  of  Association 

.       18 

(i)  Recency   ...... 

.       18 

(2)  Frequency         

.       18 

(3)  Vividness 

.       18 

(4)  Congruity          ..... 

•       19 

(5)  Interest     .         .   '     . 

•       19 

(6)  Voluntary  Association 

20 

7- 

Illustration  of  the  Process  of  Learning  to  Read 

21 

8. 

Silent  Reading 

.       25 

(i)  Mental  Economy       .... 

.       28 

(2)  Increased  Rapidity    .... 

^      33 

CHAPTER   II 

The  Physiology  of  Reading 

1 .  The  Physical  Basis  of  Association 

2.  Localization  of  Brain  Functions  . 

(i)  Aphasias  .... 
ix 


38 

38 
40 
40 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


3.  The  Physical  Husis  of  a  Word     .... 

( I )  How  W'oiils  ("itt  Recorded  on  the  Brain   . 

4.  Pliysical  Basis  of  tlie  Meaiiins;  of  Words 

5.  Tlie  Relation  of  Left-and-Right-Handedness  to  Speed 

6.  Muscular  Movement  Involved  in  Reading    . 

(1)  The  Eye  Moves  in  Steps  Across  the  Page 

(2)  Steps  Vary  in  Size  in  the  Same  Individual 

(3)  Steps  Vary  in  Different  Individuals 

(4)  Children  take  More  Steps  Than  Adults 

(5)  Seeing  Occurs  During  Pauses 

(6)  Letters  Are  Seen  in  Groups     . 

(7)  Motor  Images  Also  Represent  Groups 

(8)  Grouping  is  a  Matter  of  Development 

(9)  The  Eye  Forms  Short-Lived  Motor  Habits 
(10)  The  Proper  Length  of  Line  and  Size  of  Type 

as  Given  by  Dearborn 

(II)  The  Unit  of  Apperception  Varies    . 

7.  The  Meaning  of  Words  is  Largely  Motor    . 

8.  Posture  of  Pupil 


PAOB 

44 
47 
51 
53 
59 
59 
59 
60 
60 
61 
62 
64 
64 

65 

65 
65 
66 
68 


CHAPTER   III 

Principles  deduced  from  the  Psychology  and  Physi- 
ology OF  Reading  (22) 70 

CHAPTER  IV 

The  Ends  of  Reading 77 

I.   Twofold  Aspect  of  Reading 'j'j 

1.    Primary  Grades :  The  Mechanics  of  Reading'      .         .  'j'j 

(i)  Instant  Recognition  of  the  Speaking  Vocabulary  •j'j 

(2)  Analysis  of  Words  into  Phonic  Elements  .         .  78 

(3)  Recognition,  Representation,  and  Pronunciation 

of  Phonic  Elements        .         .         .         .         .81 

(4)  Synthesis  of  Phonic  Elements  into  Words         .  83 

(5)  Meaning  of  Unfamiliar  Words  ....  84 

(6)  Spelling 85 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS  xi 


3.  Primary  Grades  :  Reading  as  Literature 

(i)  What  to  Read 

(a)  Interest  —  Summary  of  Conclusions  (11) 
(d)  Other  Qualities 

(c)  Adaptations    .... 

4.  Grammar  Grades  :  The  Mechanics  of  Reading 

(i)  Supplementary  Reading    . 

(a)  Information    .... 

(d)  Inspiration      .... 
(c)  Taste      ..... 

5.  Grammar  Grades  :  Reading  as  Literature    . 

(i)  What  to  Read 

6.  The  High  School 


CHAPTER   V 

Methods  of  Teaching  Reading        .... 

1.  The  History  of  Method 

(i)  Reading  Material 

(2)  Method 

2.  The  Beginnings  of  Reading         .... 

(i)  Some  Definitions       ..... 

(2)  Principles   Governing   the   Selection    of  Sight 

Words  ....... 

(3)  Principles  Governing  the   Selection  of  Sounds 

to  be  Taught  ..... 

(4)  Teaching  Sight  Words      .... 

(5)  Teaching  Sounds  and  Phonograms  . 

(6)  Teaching  the  Blend 

(7)  Correcting  Errors 

(8)  A  Device  for  Beginners     .... 

3.  Methods  of  Imparting  the  Content  of  a  Reading  Lesson 

(i)  Impression  and  Expression 

(2)  Lyrics  (Primary)       ..... 

(3)  The  Narrative  Poem  (Fourth  Year)  . 

(a)  Lucy  Gray      ..... 

(4)  The  Total  Impression       .... 


Xll 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


(5)  Word  Study      . 

(6)  Grammar,  Figures,  Allusions 

(7)  A  Definite  Aim 

4.  Reading  as  Expression 

( 1 )  Literature  for  the  Ear 

(2)  High  School  Reading 

(3)  S.  H.  Clark  on  Oral  Reading 

(<?)    Words :  get,  hold,  give  the  thought 

{b)   Grouping 

(f)  Sentences:  the  unit  of  a  complete  thought* 
(</)  Subordination:    an    important    principle 

of  art 

{e)   Transition       ...... 

(/)  Emphasis :  the  exact  meaning  dependent 

upon  it 

{£)  Emotion  (sympathetic)  :  imagine  yourself 

in  a  certain  situation   .... 
(Ji)  Emotion  (personal)  :  here  the  emotion  is 

real    ...  .         .         .         . 

(/)   G?«/'/'«i-^.-  a  principle  of  all  art 
(7)   Climax  ....... 

5.  Class  Criticism  of  Oral  Reading  .         .         .         .         . 

(i)  The  Standard 

(2)  Who  is  to  Criticise,  and  How.'' 

6.  Reading  to  Pupils        ....... 

7.  Memorizing         ........ 

8.  Story  Telling 


FACB 

140 
141 

143 
149 
150 
150 

152 
152 
153 

153 

154 
154 
ISS 
157 
158 

159 
162 


CHAPTER  VI 

Quantitative  Study  of  Reading  . 

1.  The  Unit 

2.  Number  of  Words  Taught  in  First  Year 

3.  Total  Amount  Read    .... 

4.  The  Books  Used  in  Reading  by  Children 

5.  Reading  to  Pupils        .... 

6.  Relation  of  Quantity,  Quality,  and  Time 

7.  Dramatization 


165 
166 
170 
171 
172 
177 
i8r 
184 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS  xiii 


CHAPTER   VII 

PAGE 

A  Reading  Test 191 

1.  Analysis  of  the  Problem 192 

(i)  Amount 192 

(2)  Interpretation   .......  193 

(3)  Reading  Aloud 193 

(4)  The  Abstract 194 

(5)  The  Dictionary  Habit 195 

2.  A  High  Standard 195 

3.  Every  Pupil  Tested     . 196 

4.  Relative  Value  of  Reading 197 

CHAPTER  VIII 

The  Hygiene  of  Reading 199 

1.  Sufficient  Light 199 

2.  Tinge  and  Surface  of  Paper 202 

3.  Illustrations 204 

4.  Length  of  Line 205 

5.  Size  of  Type 208 

6.  Eye-Strain 211 

(i)  Diseases  of  the  Eye 212 

(2)  The  School  Doctor  .         .         .        ...         .214 

(3)  Home-Study 215 

7.  Literary  Style 216 

CHAPTER   IX 

Bibliography 221 

CHAPTER  X 

Topics  for  Discussion 226 

Index 233 


LIST    OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 


I .   The  "  Signs  "  of  Reading 

PAGE 

IS 

2.    The  Process  of  Learning  to  Read 

22 

3.    The  Process  of  Learning  to  Read 

23 

4.    Key  to  Strange  Alphabet 

22 

5.    Brain  Localization    . 

43 

6.    Reading  Pauses 

60 

7.    Reading  Pauses 

61 

8.    Reading  Pauses 

62 

9.   A  Page  of  the  New  England  Primer 

III 

0.    Accommodation  in  Vision 

212 

THE  PRINCIPLES  AND  METHODS  OF 
TEACHING  READING 

TJHAPTER  i 
THE   PSYCHOLOGY   OF   READING 

Language  is  the  joint  product  of  heredity  and 
education.  The  child  is  born  with  certain  instincts 
which  are  the  basis  of  linguistic  development.  We 
may  distinguish,  among  others,  the  following  im- 
pulses leading  to  speech :  — 

The  Expressive  Impulse,  a  tendency  to  embody 
attitude  or  meaning  in  plastic  or  linguistic  activities. 

The  Social  Impulse,  the  tendency  to  exhibit  such 
expression  to  an  appreciative  audience.  Professor 
Dewey  calls  this  the  "greatest  of  all  educational 
resources."  ^ 

The  Imitative  Impulse,  the  tendency  to  imitate 
linguistic  sounds.  Primarily  this  is  not  voluntary 
or  telic  imitation,  but  is  largely  reflex. 

*  The  School  and  Society,  John  Dewey,  University  of  Chicago  Press, 
1899,  p.  58. 

B  I 


2        THE   PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACHING   READING 

The  Play  Impulse,  or  the  tendency  to  vary  and 
extend  speech  sounds  in  an  experimental  way  for 
amusement. 

The  kind  of  sounds  a  child  finally  adopts  as  his 
language  depends  upon  his  environment.  Imita- 
tion is  the  controlling  factor  here.  This  is  the  case 
even  among  the  lower  animals.  "So  inadequate," 
says  Tracy,^  "is  heredity  alone,  that  the  child  will 
not  learn  the  language  of  its  parents  unless  he  be  in 
the  society  of  those  who  employ  it.  If  brought  up 
among  savages,  he  will  speak  their  language;  if 
among  wolves,  he  will  howl."  Alfred  Russell  Wal- 
lace says,  "Young  birds  never  have  the  song  peculiar 
to  their  species,  if  they  have  not  heard  it ;  whereas 
they  acquire  very  easily  the  song  of  any  other  bird 
with  which  they  are  associated."  ^ 

I .  Stages  of  Infantile  Language.  —  Various  stages 
in  the  development  of  language  may  be  distinguished 
as  follows :  (i)  The  Emotional  Stage,  (2)  The  Bab- 
bling Stage,  (3)  The  Chattering  Stage,  (4)  The  Talk- 
ing Stage. 

(i)  The  Emotional  Stage.  —  The  child  comes  into 
the  world  with  a  cry  of  pain.     The  cry  is  his  only 

*  The  Psychology  of  Childhood,  Frederick  Tracy,  D.  C.  Heath  &  Co., 
p.  117.  *  Natural  Selection. 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  READING  3 

language,  and  is  used  for  the  expression  of  his  feelings. 
A  little  later  this  cry  is  differentiated  into  several 
varieties,  such  as  the  voice  of  anger,  the  wail  of 
disappointment,  and  the  cry  of  physical  pain.  Fur- 
ther on  come  cries,  screams,  gurglings,  and  cooings 
indicative  of  energy,  pleasure,  or  contentment. 
Children  only  a  few  months  old  are  sensitive  to  the 
emotional  expressions  of  others.  The  tone  of  the 
voice  will  soothe  or  irritate,  exhilarate  or  depress 
them.  The  emotional  language  which  thus  serves 
to  establish  an  understanding  between  a  mother  and 
her  child  is  one  of  the  beautiful  mysteries  of  mother- 
hood. Thus  the  emotional  language  gradually  ap- 
proaches the  intellectual  stage.  The  child  learns  to 
vary  his  grunts  and  squeals  and  cries  and  coos  so  as 
to  express  fear,  surprise,  desire,  satisfaction,  assent, 
question.  Another  element  of  fundamental  impor- 
tance is  now  added  to  the  linguistic  outfit  in  the  form 
of  gesture  to  accompany  the  voice. 

(a)  Importance  of  Gesture.  —  By  means  of  tone, 
emphasis,  inflection,  and  gesture,  the  child  manages 
to  express  nearly  all  his  feelings,  ideas,  and  wishes 
before  he  has  learned  a  single  word ;  and  by  the  same 
means  he  interprets  to  a  considerable  extent  the 
feelings  and  wishes  of  others.     Throughout  life  the 


4        THE   PRINCIPLES   01"    REACHING   READING 

same  vocal  elements  and  gesture  remain  as  vital 
auxiliaries  of  speech.  Few  of  us  realize  how  much 
gesture  enters  into  the  personality  and  language  of 
people,  especially  of  people  who  have  no  written 
language ;  but  even  among  the  civilized,  whole  races 
are  characterized  by  the  number  and  varieties  of 
their  gestures.  It  is  almost  impossible  to  imagine 
a  non-gesticulating  Frenchman.  It  has  been  said 
of  the  Arabs  that  they  more  than  double  the  mean- 
ing of  their  words  by  the  piquancy  of  their  gestures. 
Delsarte  analyzed  speech  into  three  elements,  — 
voice,  gesture,  articulation.  Voice  (inflection),  he 
says,  is  the  language  of  the  sensitive  nature,  or  physi- 
cal life ;  gesture  is  the  language  of  emotion ;  articu- 
lation is  the  language  of  reason.  "In  considering 
the  two  languages  of  emotion,  the  verbal  and  the 
pantomimic,  the  latter  is  revelatory  of  the  true  man ; 
while  the  verbal  is  more  or  less  artificial.  It  takes 
many  words  to  say  what  a  single  look  reveals. 
Gesture  is  the  lightning,  speech  the  thunder.  .  .  . 
Gesture  shows  the  emotional  condition  from  which 
the  words  flow,  and  justifies  them."  ^ 

Gesture  language,  however,  is  not  limited  to  the 
expression  of  emotion.     It  is  employed  both  by  the 

^  Delsarte  System  of  Expression,  Genevieve  Stebbins,  N.  Y.,  1889,  p.  170. 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  READING  5 

child  and  by  primitive  man  to  convey  knowledge. 
Tyler  says  that  the  language  of  gesture  is  about 
the  same  all  over  the  world.  "Mallery  brought  to- 
gether some  Utah  Indians  and  a  deaf  mute,  who 
gave  them  a  long  account  of  a  marauding  expedition, 
followed  by  a  dialogue ;  they  understood  each  other 
perfectly.  .  .  .  The  language  of  analytical  gesture 
is  thus  a  substitute  for  spoken  language;  ...  its 
syntax  resembles  that  of  deaf-mutes."  ^ 

(2)  The  Babbling  Stage.  —  After  the  instinctive 
utterances  already  mentioned  comes  a  period  of 
babbling,  when  the  child  uses  his  vocal  organs  as  a 
plaything.  This  stage  occurs  in  the  second  and 
third  quarters  of  the  first  year.  Nature  impels  the 
child  to  exercise  his  vocal  powers  as  a  preparation 
for  speech-learning.  In  a  random  (purposeless) 
way  he  will  thus  make  nearly  every  sound  in  lan- 
guage over  and  over  again.  The  babbling  does  not 
take  the  place  of  the  earlier  mode  of  expression,  but 
is  added  to  it.  Toward  the  end  of  the  first  year, 
after  a  child  has  made  countless  random  sounds,  he 
has  a  stock  of  motor  images  of  vocal  utterance  that 
enables  him  to  reproduce  the  sounds  he  hears  in  a 

^  The  Evolution  of  General  Ideas,  Th.  Ribot,  The  Open  Court  Publish- 
ing Co.,  1899,  p.  51. 


6       THE   PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACHING   READING 

semi-reflex  way.  The  following  illustration  of  the 
babbhng  age  is  taken  from  my  diary  of  a  little  girl. 
On  the  first  anniversary  of  her  birth  I  find  this 
record :  — 

"Constantly  babbling." 

"  Understands  —  *  Give  me  a  kiss ' ;  *  Go  to  Papa' ; 
'Go  to  Mamma' ;  'How  tall  is  K.  ?'" 

At  the  age  of  one  year  and  twenty-one  days  this 
entry  was  made :  — 

"Is  making  rapid  progress  in  the  understanding  of 
language.  The  following  expressions  are  under- 
stood :  — 

"'Get  your  stocking,'  'Bring  Mamma  your  shoe/ 
'Give  it  to  Papa,'  'K.  dance,'  'Take  your  doll  and 
lie  do\\Ti,'  'Give  that  to  Julia '  (she  had  torn  a  piece 
of  paper  off  the  shelf  cover;  her  mother  said,  'Now 
go  and  give  that  to  Julia.'  She  marched  off  to  the 
dining  room  and  held  the  paper  up  to  Julia) ; 
'Where's  the  baby?'  'Put  your  hand  through  the 
hole.'     (This  in  dressing.)" 

Up  to  this  point  she  had  used  very  few  words  of 
her  own.  ■  Comprehension  of  language  precedes  use.' 
Most  of  her  utterances  up  to  the  age  of  one  year 
were  of  the  babbling  kind,  such  as  the  following, 
recorded  on  the  three  hundred  and  fourth  day :  — 


THE   PSYCHOLOGY  OF  READING 

"  Gaa-gaa,  etc. 

"Daa-daa,  etc. 

"Baba. 

"Baby. 

"Gut-tha  (tli**as  in  the). 

"A-a-a-a-a-  (with  an  accent  on  each). 

"Ta-ta  (long  sustained,  with  varying  pitch)." 

Out  of  the  spontaneous  babbhng  grows  the  no 
less  spontaneous  imitation  of  sounds.  Instead  of  re- 
peating chance  sounds,  he  now  imitates  nearly  every 
sound  he  hears.  This  phase  is  illustrated  by  the 
following  record  of  K. :  — 

^^  Thirteen  months.  —  To-day  K.  said  'apple.'  She 
also  says  'good,  good,'  and  something  that  sounds 
like  'Julia'  without  the  J." 

During  the  fourteenth  month  these  expressions 
are  found :  — 

"Boy"  and  "bow-wow." 

"Dicken"  for  "chicken." 

"Thank  you"  (without  the  th). 

"Tries  to  hum  a  tune  that  Julia  sings,  and  succeeds 
in  making  out  enough  of  the  air  to  distinguish  it 
plainly." 

"  She  attempts  to  say  almost  everything  now,  and 
is  constantly  chattering." 


8        THE   PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACHING   READING 

(3)  The  Chattering  Stage.  —  And  thus  we  have 
reached  the  third,  or  word-learning,  stage  of  linguis- 
tic progress.  '  Kirkpatrick  says  this  phase  may  begin 
in  the  first  year,  but  is  not  usually  \'cry  marked  till 
the  last  half  of  the  second  year.  In  the  case  of  K. 
the  point  was  reached  at  the  very  threshold  of  the 
second  year.  In  the  beginning,  names  are  learned 
by  associating  the  sound  with  the  object,  quality, 
or  act  denoted.  In  every  case  the  association  is 
assisted  by  circumstances,  such  as  gesture,  facial 
expression,  inflection  of  the  voice,  and  the  like.  The 
words  that  a  child  uses  at  this  time  frequently  stand 
for  phrases  or  entire  sentences.  Only  that  portion 
of  a  thought  that  needs  special  emphasis  is  ex- 
pressed in  words.  All  the  rest  is  understood  from 
such  auxiliaries  of  speech  as  tone,  inflection,  gesture, 
the  presence  of  the  object,  and  the  performance  of 
an  act.  For  instance,  K.  says,  "Up!  "  when  she 
desires  to  be  lifted;  "Down!"  when  she  wants  to 
get  off  your  lap.  "Dinne"  means  "I  want  my 
dinner."     "Diima  yedda"  means  "Dinner  is  ready." 

(4)  The  Talking  Stage.  —  This  is  the  last,  or  sen- 
tence-making, epoch  of  language  acquisition.  Prog- 
ress from  the  preceding  stage  consists  in  substituting 
words  for  what  was  previously  indicated  or  under- 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  READING  9 

stood  by  tone  or  gesture ;  and  also  in  a  better  mental 
grasp  of  the  relations  of  different  parts  of  speech,  and 
of  words  that  express  these  relations.  For  in- 
stance, when  K.  was  a  year  and  a  half  old,  she  used 
this  sentence:  "Give  me  ga!"  meaning  "Give  me 
the  glass."  This  is  a  complete  sentence  containing 
a  verb,  and  is  one  of  the  very  earliest  uses  of  the 
personal  pronoun  of  the  first  person.  When,  about 
the  same  time,  she  was  dressed  ready  to  go  for  a 
walk,  she  said,  " Come  on! "  When  she  was  through 
with  her  dinner  she  called  out,  "I  done."  Even 
subjective  expressions  denoting  emotions  begin  thus 
early  by  imitation,  perhaps  sometimes  without  full 
comprehension.  Thus  K.  at  the  end  of  eighteen 
months  brought  her  little  bath-tub  into  my  study 
one  day  and  tried  to  sit  down  in  it.  She  failed  and 
nearly  fell  over,  then  she  walked  away,  exclaiming, 
"0  dea!"  On  another  occasion  she  expressed  sur- 
prise by  saying,  "Doodness  "  (goodness). 

2.  Kinds  of  Words  used  by  Children. — As  to  the 
kind  of  words  a  child  naturally  learns  first,  Tracy 
has  collected  important  information.^  He  gives  a 
summary  of  the  vocabularies  of  a  number  of  children 

*  The  Psychology  of  Childhood,  Frederick  Tracy,  Heath  &  Co.,  1896, 
p.  117. 


lo      THE   PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACfflNG   READING 

under  three  years  of  age,  comprising  five  thousand, 
four  hundred  words.     Of  these  — 
60  per  cent  are  nouns. 
20  per  cent  are  verbs. 
9  per  cent  are  adjectives. 
5  per  cent  are  adverbs. 
2  per  cent  are  prepositions. 
2  per  cent  are  pronouns. 
1.7  per  cent  are  interjections. 
0.3  per  cent  are  conjunctions. 
Professor   Kirkpatrick  ^   has   determined   that   of 
the  words  in  the  EngUsh  language  as  found  in  a  dic- 
tionary — 

60  per  cent  are  nouns. 
II  per  cent  are  verbs. 
22  per  cent  are  adjectives. 
5.5  per  cent  are  adverbs. 
From  this  it  appears  that  the  number  of  verbs  em- 
ployed by  a  child  is  relatively  larger  than  the  num- 
ber he  employs  in  adult  life.     It  must  also  be  remem- 
bered that  a  child  imitates  movements  before  sounds, 
and  expresses  many  actions  by  gesture  rather  than 
by   words.     Furthermore  many  words  used  by   a 
child   that  have  the   appearance  of  other  parts  of 

1  Tracy,  op.  cit.,  p.  146. 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  READING  ii 

speech  are  in  reality  verbs  (or  at  least  embody  ac- 
tion-ideas). Thus  in  the  case  of  K.,  "up"  meant 
"Please  take  me  up";  "down"  meant  "I  want 
to  get  off  your  knee";  "dink"  meant  "I  want  a 
drink  of  water."  With  these  allowances  made,  it 
is  evident  that  the  verbs  in  a  child's  early  vocabu- 
lary are  relatively  much  more  numerous  than  the 
table  would  indicate,  and  possibly  three  or  four 
times  as  numerous  as  in  the  case  of  adult  language. 

These  facts  confirm  all  other  studies  of  children 
as  showing  the  importance  of  motor  activity  and  the 
motor  idea  in  primary  education. 

3.  The  Number  of  Words  used  by  Children.  —  It  is 
said  that  children  rarely  learn  to  walk  and  to  talk 
at  the  same  time.  Walking  usually  precedes  talk- 
ing. Hence  language-learning  is  not  prominent  till 
after  the  middle  of  the  second  year. ^  "At  two  years 
of  age  a  child's  vocabulary  may  not  exceed  a  score 
of  words ;  but  is  likely  to  number  from  two  to  four 
hundred  and  may  reach  the  surprising  figure  of  ten 
or  fifteen  hundred."  ^  Between  two  and  four,  prog- 
ress in  acquiring  new  words  is  usually  somewhat 
irregular.    After  a  child  has  learned  to  read  with 

1  E.  A.  Kirkpatrick,  Fundamentals  of  Child  Study,  Macmillan,  1903, 
p.  232. 


12      nm  PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACHING  READING 

some  facility,  a  desire  to  know  what  is  in  books 
alTords  a  powerful  stimulus  for  the  acquisition  of 
new  words.  Kirkpatrick  says  a  thousand  new  words 
a  >'ear  would  be  a  low  estimate  for  a  youth,  and  ac- 
cording to  his  investigations  a  high  school  graduate 
may  know  the  meanmg  of  twenty  or  thirty  thousand 
words. 

4.  Visual  Language.  —  Thus  far  we  have  consid- 
ered the  psychology  of  heard  and  spoken  language 
prior  to  the  school  age.  We  have,  in  other  words, 
tried  to  represent  in  psychological  terms  the  linguis- 
tic condition  of  the  child  when  he  presents  himself 
in  school  for  the  purpose  of  learning  how  to  compre- 
hend language  through  the  eye  and  how  to  express 
it  through  the  hand.  The  common  names  of  the 
two  new  processes  are  reading  and  writing. 

There  is  a  vast  difference  between  oral  language 
and  visual  language.  Oral  speech  is  a  fundamental 
psychological  and  physiological  fact.  No  speech- 
less race  of  men  has  yet  been  found.  The  human 
spirit  shows  in  the  faculty  of  speech  a  limitless  power 
of  creation.  The  so-called  "  bow-wow  "  theory  of  the 
origin  of  language  (phonetic  imitations  of  natural 
sounds)  is  discounted  by  the  fact  that  words  in  differ- 
ent languages  representing  the  same  thing  are  different. 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  READING      13 

Between  man  and  every  other  animal  the  gift  of 
speech  puts  an  immeasurable  distance.  "Our  rever- 
ence for  the  nobility  of  manhood,"  observes  Huxley, 
"will  not  be  lessened  by  the  knowledge  that  man  is 
in  substance  and  in  structure  one  with  the  brutes, 
for  he  alone  possesses  the  marvelous  endowment  of 
intelligent  and  rational  speech.  Thus  he  stands  as 
on  a  mountain  top  far  above  the  level  of  his  humble 
fellows  and  transfigured  from  his  lower  nature,  by 
reflecting  here  and  there  a  ray  from  the  infinite 
source  of  truth."  ^ 

These  remarks  apply,  however,  only  to  spoken 
language.  Visual  language  is  purely  conventional, 
and  is  possessed  only  by  civilized  or  semi-civilized 
peoples.  It  is  not  the  direct  outcome  of  the  instinc- 
tive impulses  from  which  spoken  language  is  devel- 
oped. If  visual  speech  were  governed  by  instincts 
as  potent  as  those  of  oral  speech,  the  child  would 
learn  to  read  spontaneously.  Neither  has  the  neces- 
sity of  communication  much  force  in  the  case  of 
reading,  for  the  child  already  has  an  easy  and  ade- 
quate means  of  expression  in  his  oral  language. 
About  the  only  instincts  that  the  reading  teacher  can 
at  first  appeal  to  effectively  are  the  play  instinct  and 

*  Man's  Place  in  Nature,  Thomas  Huxley,  pp.  119,  132. 


14       THE   PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACHING   READING 

the  social  desire  for  approbation.  Hence  progress 
in  visual  language,  even  with  a  teacher,  is  much 
slower  for  a  time  than  progress  in  learning  oral  lan- 
guage without  any  formal  teaching. 

5.  Reading  a  Fortn  of  Association.  —  When  a  child 
enters  school  he  has  already  acquired  the  use  of  oral 
language.  This  means  that  he  has  associated  with 
his  concepts  certain  sounds  which  we  call  oral  words, 
and  certain  muscular  images  of  the  vocal  organs  as 
these  are  employed  in  uttering  words.  These  three 
things,  the  auditory  image,  the  motor  image,  and  the 
concept,  are  so  indissolubly  associated  that  any  one 
is  usually  sufficient  to  call  up  the  other  two  without 
conscious  effort.  Learning  to  read  as  a  mental  pro- 
cess is  nothing  more  than  the  introduction  of  an 
additional  factor  into  this  group  of  associations  in 
the  form  of  a  visual  image,  which  we  call  the  written 
or  printed  word.  The  four  factors  have  been  called 
the  "signs"  ^  employed  in  reading.  The  accom- 
panying diagram  illustrates  graphically  the  relation 
of  these  signs. 

Since  reading  is  essentially  a  matter  of  association, 
we  shall  have  to  ascertain  next  what  psychology  has 

1  Psychology  in  the  Schoolroom,  Dexter  and  Garlick,  Longmans, 
Green  &  Co.,  1898,  p.  126. 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  READING 


IS 


to  tell  us  about  that  process.  Association  is  an  in- 
stance of  the  great  law  of  nervous  habit.  Things 
repeated  in  the  same  order  tend  to  unroU  themselves 


VISUALSIGN 

~  THE.  WORD  - 

DOG 


VOCAL  SIGN 

POSITION  OF 

ORGANSOf  SPEECH 


AUDITORY  SIGN 

soxmo  OF 

WORD  DOG 


MMENTAL5IGN 
THECONCEFT 

DOG 


^4^^ 

0M^^^ 

T(^^^_  >^ 

^^  "^   -^■"- 

Fig.  I. 
Adapted  from  Dexter  and  Garlick's  Psychology  in  the  Schoolroom. 

again  automatically,  as,  for  instance,  the  nonsense 
rhymes  used  by  children  in  counting  off  — 

"  Ana  mana  mona  mike 
Barcelona  bona  strike."^ 

If  you  have  ever  been  out  in  the  deep  snow,  you 

'  Many  ideas  and  illustrations  of  association  given  here  are  borrowed 
from  William  James,  The  Principles  of  Psychology,  Holt  &  Co.,  1893, 
Vol.  I,  Chap.  XIV. 


1 6      THE  PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACHING  READING 

know  the  dilTerence  between  following  the  beaten 
path  and  making  a  new  one.  Nervous  impulses 
have  the  same  experience  in  getting  themselves  prop- 
agated through  the  central  nervous  system.  They 
always  tend  to  discharge  themselves  in  the  direction 
of  least  resistance ;  and  this  is  the  beaten  path. 
Association  is  the  psychological  effect  "of  the  physi- 
cal fact  that  nerve  currents  propagate  themselves 
through  those  tracts  of  conduction  which  have  been 
most  in  use."  If  we  think  of  the  cause,  we  call  the 
process  habit;  if  we  think  of  the  effect,  we  call  it 
association. 

The  laws  of  association  are  sometimes  distin- 
guished to  the  number  of  three  or  four,  but  it  is  prob- 
able that  all  might  be  reduced  to  two  —  contiguity 
and  similarity.  If  certain  objects  or  events  are  ex- 
perienced in  the  same  place  or  at  the  same  time,  and 
one  of  the  group  is  reproduced  at  a  subsequent  time, 
the  rest  of  the  group  tend  to  reappear,  also.  In  the 
same  w^ay,  objects  that  resemble  each  other  tend  to 
reappear  together,  even  though  the  two  were  never  ex- 
perienced together  before.  Referring  to  our  reading 
diagram,  we  may  say  that  if  the  visual  sign,  the  vocal 
sign,  the  auditory  sign,  and  the  concept  or  image 
have   been   simultaneously   in   consciousness   often 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  READING 


17 


enough,  any  one  will  be  sufficient  to  recall  the  re- 
maining three.  Or,  in  other  words,  if  the  written 
word,  the  spoken  word,  and  the  heard  word  have 
been  perfectly  associated  with  the  idea  that  they 
all  express,  the  idea  will  recall  all  the  modes  of  expres- 
sion, and  the  three  forms  of  the  word  will  each  recall 
the  idea.  "A  child  who  comes  across  a  difficult  word 
{e.g.  hippopotamus)  has  merely  a  more  or  less  im- 
perfect visual  sign.  This  does  not  call  up  any  vocal 
(or  motor)  sign  (he  cannot  say  the  word) ;  it  does 
not  call  up  any  auditory  sign  (he  is  unaware  whether 
another  scholar  does  or  does  not  pronounce  the  word 
correctly).  It  is  needless  to  say  that  no  mental 
sign  is  called  up  (the  word  has  no  meaning  to  him). 
A  child  who  can  read  a  given  word  {e.g.  emu),  but 
does  not  know  its  meaning,  is  able  to  call  up  all  the 
signs  except  the  mental  one.  The  whole  art  of  read- 
ing aloud  correctly  and  intelligently  consists  in  being 
able  to  reproduce  all  these  signs  simultaneously."  ^ 
If  we  meet  a  familiar  face  on  the  street,  or  a  familiar 
flower  or  bird  in  the  field,  but  cannot  remember  the 
name  of  the  friend  or  object,  then  we  have  the  mental 
sign,  but  lack  all  the  others.  In  reading  we  look  at 
words  and  endeavor  to  make  out  their  meaning.     In 

^  Dexter  and  Garlick,  op.  cit.,  p.  126. 
C 


iS       THE   PRINXIPLES  OF  TEACHIXG   READING 

compc^sition  \vc  have  meaning  and  try  to  find  words 
to  embody  it.  The  two  processes  are  complementary 
to  each  other.  And  in  order  to  form  deep  and  last- 
ing associations  between  the  words  and  their  mean- 
ing, reading  and  writing  should  go  hand  in  hand. 

6.  Laws  of  Association.  —  Certain  mental  factors 
are  important  in  determining  the  predominant  ele- 
ments of  association  and  influencing  the  direction  of 
the  mental  movement.  These  factors,  which  give 
rise  to  the  various  phases  of  association  known  as 
laws  of  similarity,  contrast,  etc.,  are  as  follows :  — 

(i)  Recency.  —  Other  things  being  equal,  the  ex- 
perience that  is  most  recent  is  likely  to  determine 
the  course  of  mental  movement.  If  I  sit  down  in 
idle  meditation  after  an  exciting  day's  work  or  pleas- 
ure, my  revery  is  likely  to  be  occupied  with  the 
scenes  through  which  I  have  recently  passed. 

(2)  Frequency.  —  To  the  preceding  factors  must 
also  be  added  the  frequency  of  connection  between 
the  presentations  that  are  associated.  If  "a"  has 
been  associated  with  "b"  twice  and  "c"  but  once, 
other  things  being  equal,  "a"  is  a  better  clew  for  the 
recallof  "6"  than"c"is. 

(3)  Vividness.  —  The  intensity  of  the  first  impres- 
sion also  is  an  important  factor  of  the  subsequent 


THE   PSYCHOLOGY  OF  READING  19 

recall.  This  may  depend  on  the  nature  of  the  stimu- 
lus, as  a  portentous  sound,  or  my  interest  in  the  sub- 
ject, or  the  emotion  accompanying  the  impression. 
If  you  have  ever  witnessed  a  railroad  accident,  all 
accounts  of  such  accidents  will  thereafter  make  a 
deep  impression  upon  you.  If  you  have  ever  visited 
the  Palace  of  Versailles,  any  subsequent  reference 
to  Marie  Antoinette  will  excite  a  lively  interest. 
The  art  of  creating  vividness  in  teaching,  therefore, 
would  seem  to  consist  in  connecting  your  instruc- 
tion with  some  significant  experience  of  the  pupil. 

(4)  Congruity. — A  fourth  element  is  what  James 
calls  the  congruity  of  the  emotional  tone  of  an  im- 
pression and  our  mood.  If  you  are  in  good  spirits, 
a  funny  story  makes  a  stronger  impression  upon  you 
than  it  would  if  you  were  sad.  If  the  mood  and  the 
emotion  are  of  the  same  tone,  they  support  each 
other.  If  they  are  opposite  in  character,  they  tend 
to  annihilate  each  other.  Thus,  an  interesting  novel 
has  small  charms  for  a  mah  who  is  seasick. 

(5)  Interest. — That  in  which  we  are  most  inter- 
ested makes  the  deepest  impression  on  our  minds 
and  is  most  likely  to  abide.  Just  as  in  looking  at  a 
landscape  certain  features  are  picked  out  for  atten- 
tion, while  others  are  ignored,  so  in  recalling  objects 


20      THE   PRIXCirLES  OF  TEACHING   READING 

and  events,  there  is  an  unconscious  partiality  in  the 
selection  of  elements,  which  in  time  changes  the  ob- 
ject. This  is  why  a  great  man  seems  greater  after 
death  than  before.  In  recalling  him  after  he  is  gone, 
we  are  prone  to  dwell  on  his  good  qualities  and  to 
forget  his  frailties.  In  the  course  of  time  our  idea 
of  the  man  is  transformed.  Washington  is  aheady 
a  demigod;  Lincoln  is  fast  becoming  one.  While 
they  lived  they  were  vilified  as  much  as  any  living 
public  man  of  to-day. 

(6)  Voluntary  Association. — All  the  association 
thus  far  spoken  of  is  involuntary.  This  is  very  im- 
portant and  all-potent  with  young  children.  But 
thinking  may  be  defined  as  controlled  or  voluntary 
association.  In  revery  and  in  memory  association 
takes  place  in  accordance  with  its  own  laws.  In 
studying  and  thinking  we  make  a  conscious  effort 
to  vivify  and  intensify  some  one  element  above 
others,  and  in  this  way  we  determine  the  direction 
of  the  next  associations,  f  The  skill  of  a  teacher  is 
shown  by  her  ability  to  keep  children  in  the  control 
of  their  associations. '  When  they  lose  this  control, 
we  say  their  minds  wander,  or  they  are  not  paying 
attention. '  They  are  paying  attention,  but  not  to 
the  teacher.    Their  mental  movement  is  revery,  and 


4- 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  READING 

they  sit  and  inwardly  gaze  at  a  panorama  of  imagery. 
The  associations  control  them.  Their  eyes  and  ears 
are  wide  open,  but  they  see  and  hear  nothing.  When 
they  control  their  mental  movements,  the  associa- 
tions follow  th^  words  of  the  teacher,  and  all  else  is 
suppressed. 

7.  Illustration  of  the  Process  of  Learning  to  Read.  — 
James  defines  reading,  psychologically^  as  "an  inter- 
rupted and  protracted  recall  of  sounds  by  sights 
which  have  always  been  coupled  with  them  in  the 
past."  ^  This  definition  is  incomplete,  inasmuch 
it  leaves  out  two  important  elements  of  a  com- 
pete process  of  reading, — the  motor  image  and  the 
conceptual  element.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  it  de- 
scribes a  good  deal  of  so-called  reading,  which  con- 
sists simply  in  converting  sight-symbols  into  sound- 
symbols,  with  Httle  or  no  appreciation  of  the  meaning 
of  what  is  read.  The  pronunciation  of  a  series  of  words 
in  a  foreign  language  of  whose  meaning  one  is  wholly 
ignorant  would  satisfy  every  demand  of  the  defini- 
tion. The  various  elements  of  the  complex  experi- 
ence for  which  a  word  stands  may  of  course  be 
excited  in  unequal  degrees,  but  each  element  is  suffi- 
cient ordinarily  to  excite  all  the  rest  in  some  degree. 

Wp.cU.,p.  557. 


22      THE   PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACHING   READING 


WTien  one  is  simply  glancing  over  a  page  in  so- 
called  silent  reading,  the  vocal  element  seems  to  be 

missing,  but  experi- 
ment proves  that  it 
is  quite  impossible 
to  suppress  the 
motor  images  of 
words,  and  even  the 
actual  movements 
of  the  vocal  cords. 
Children  and  unedu- 
cated persons  usu- 
ally pronounce  all 
the  words,  even  when  they  read  for  themselves  alone; 
and  in  cases  where  muscular  movements  cannot  be  de- 
tected by  ordinary  observation  or  by  consciousness, 
their  presence  is  revealed  by  delicate  instruments.     In 

*  Following  is  a  key  to  the  characters  used  in  Figs.  2  and  3  :  — 


1.  J 

1  LE  > 

3.  LJ  V 

^.DEl 

5.>D  Q 

6.     r 

7. 

r 

>nD    J   LE> 

8. 

r 

>DD  J  LJV 

?. 

r 

>DD  J  DEI 

Fig. 


a 

b 

c 

d 

e 

f 

0 

h 

i 

.  J 

.k 

.1 

m 

n 

0 

• 

• 

• 

.P 

.1 

r 

• 

Fig.  4. 


THE   PSYCHOLOGY  OF  READING 


23 


fact,  as  a  clew  for  revival,  the  motor  element  in 
the  association  of  a  word  complex  seems  to  me 
to  be  the  most  potent  of  all.  This  conclusion 
is  confirmed  by  experiments  on  memory  with 
and  without  motor 


DELL 


I.  J 

i.nj> 

3.UJVD    nj>   J    3CLL 

¥;ujva  nj>  J  urvv< 
ff. Lijvanj>j   uccu 


Fig.  3. 


images. 

In  order  to  ob- 
serve, if  possible, 
what  happens  in  the 
mind  when  one  is 
learning  to  read,  let 
us  take  the  unfa- 
miliar symbols  in 
the  diagram  (Fig,  2). 
Suppose  we  say  that 
no.  I  represents  the  word  a,  no.  2  represents  the 
word  cow,  no.  3  represents  cat,  no.  4  is  dog,  no. 
5  is  see,  no.  6  is  /.  Then  see  how  much  time 
and  effort  are  required  to  read  the  sentences 
numbered  7,  8,  9.  Make  a  similar  experiment 
with  Fig.  3.  The  oral  words  or  auditory  symbols 
are  all  familiar  and  thoroughly  associated  with 
the  mental  signs  or  meanings  that  they  represent, 
and  also  with  the  motor  images  (vocal  signs)  of  oral 
expression. 


24       TIIE   PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACHING   READING 

\Miat  we  have  now  to  do  is  to  introduce  and  incor- 
porate these  visual  signs  with  the  three  other  signs 
already  established  in  our  mental  experience.  The 
more  manifold  we  make  the  clews  that  radiate  from 
our  new  symbol,  the  greater  will  be  the  chance  of 
recalling  the  group  of  which  it  forms  a  part.  If  we 
associate  the  visual  sign  w4th  the  vocal  sign  only, 
as,  for  instance,  in  learning  to  pronounce  a  foreign 
w^ord  of  whose  meaning  we  are  ignorant,  it  would 
require  a  great  many  repetitions  to  insure  its  auto- 
matic recall.  If  we  add  to  the  vocal  sign  the  mental 
sign,  we  increase  the  chances  of  recall  by  connect- 
ing more  of  our  experience  with  the  new  symbol.  (  If 
to  the  mental  sign  we  add  the  actual  presentation, 
as,  for  example,  a  real  cow,  or  a  model  or  a  picture  of 
a  cow,  the  total  experience  is  further  enriched  and 
deepened  by  interest  and  other  emotions,  all  of 
which  constitute  clews  of  recall.  )  By  an  appeal  to 
a  child's  love  of  muscular  and  play  activity,  the  ex- 
perience may  become  still  more  significant.  This 
could  be  done  by  having  the  word  printed  on  a  card 
and  kept  in  a  box  with  other  words,  then,  on  exhibit- 
ing an  object  or  picture,  calling  upon  the  pupil  to 
select  the  word  that  represents  the  object.  Fi- 
nally, one  of  the  most  powerful  of  clews  is  the  muscu- 


THE   PSYCHOLOGY  OF  READING  25 

lar  image  of  writing  the  word  after  it  is  known.  It 
is  evident,  therefore,  that  whatever  reading  may  be 
as  a  complete  process,  teaching  a  child  to  read  is  a 
good  deal  more  than  converting  sights  into  sounds. 

8.  Silent  Reading.  —  The  principle  enunciated 
above,  that  the  more  manifold  we  make  the  clews 
that  radiate  from  the  visual  symbol,  when  the  child 
is  learning  to  read,  the  more  efficacious  will  be  our 
teaching,  has  been  disputed  by  some  authorities. 
For  instance,  Mr.  M.  V.  O'Shea^  says  that  in 
reading,  the  auditory  and  vocal  processes  should  be 
reduced  to  a  minimum.  He  admits  that  we  have  to 
deal  with  the  original  tendency  to  interpret  visual 
verbal  forms  through  auditory  and  vocal  forms; 
that  these  processes  are  probably  never  completely 
short-circuited ;  and  that  they  continue  as  a  sort  of 
"interior"  speech.  But  he  thinks  it  highly  important 
to  develop  in  the  pupil  the  habit  of  reading  rapidly 
and  getting  his  cue  as  to  meaning  principally  through 
the  eye.  ^  Rapid  interpretation  rather  than  correct 
pronunciation  is  the  prime  test  of  successful  reading. 
Huey^  goes  a  step  farther,   and  says  it  is  not  nec- 

^  Linguistic  Development  and  Education,  The  Macmillan  Co.,  1907, 
p.  223. 

*  The  Psychology  and  Pedagogy  of  Reading,  The  Macmillan  Co.,  1908, 
P-  349- 


26      THE   PRINXIPLES  OF  TEACHING   READING 

essar}'  f(ir  a  child  to  pronounce  correctly  or  to  pro- 
nounce at  all,  at  first,  the  new  words.  If  he  grasps 
approximately  the  total  meaning  of  a  sentence  in 
which  the  new  word  stands,  he  has  read  the  sentence. 
Even  if  the  child  substitutes  words  of  his  own  for 
some  that  are  in  the  book,  the  reading  should  be 
approved.  He  also  says  in  another  connection  that 
"a  purely  visual  reader  is  not  an  impossibility"; 
but  admits  that  practically  he  has  never  found  the 
purely  visual  t>pe.  Speaking  on  the  point  under 
discussion.  Dr.  Edgar  Dubs  Shimer,  a  keen  psycholo- 
gist and  joint  author  of  The  Progressive  Road  to 
Reading,^  wrote  me  privately  the  following  exposition 
of  his  theory  of  mental  economy  in  learning  to 
read :  ^  — 

"I  am  seeking  to  keep  the  reality  images  (mean- 
ings, ideas,  concepts)  in  the  focus  of  consciousness, 
and  all  other  images  in  subconsciousness.  If  the 
visual  can  be  so  vividly  associated  with  the  reality 
image  that  the  latter  is  evoked  immediately  without 
interpolation  of  the  vocal,  the  pupil  wUl  read  with 
power  as  compared  with  the  one  who  must  take  an 
indirect   course   from  the  visual  to  the  vocal,  and 

'  Silver,  Burdett  &  Co.,  New  York,  1909. 

-  Dr.  Shimer  has  kindly  permitted  me  to  quote  from  this  correspond- 
ence. 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  READING  27 

then  perhaps  even  to  the  auditory,  before  reaching 
securely  the  reaHty  image.  The  methods  in  the 
Progressive  Road  make  for  proper  condensation 
in  the  association  series.  This  is  the  secret  of  the 
supplementary  stories  for  seat  work.  You  know 
how  difficult  it  is  to  arouse  a  reality  image  by  a 
visual  word  image  alone.  In  some  cases  it  may  be 
necessary  that  the  vocal  motor,  or  the  auditory,  or 
even  both  be  aroused  in  order  to  bring  the  reality 
image  into  being.  The  superfluous  associations  of 
vocal  and  auditory  images  I  desire  to  suppress,  unless 
they  really  contribute  to  establish  or  make  clear  the 
reality  image.  Some  teachers  think  that  when  a 
child  has  read  an  action  sentence  and  then  per- 
formed the  proper  action,  the  silent  reading  shows 
that  a  direct  association  was  made  between  the  vis- 
ible symbol  and  the  meaning.  I  need  not  tell  you 
that  ninety-nine  times  out  of  a  hundred  the  visible 
symbols  led  to  their  vocal  motor  and  auditory  word 
images  before  the  reality  was  reached.  All  I  want 
to  insist  upon  is  that  economy  of  effort  and  increase 
of  power  are  secured  by  making  the  path  from  visual 
symbol  to  the  idea  as  direct  as  possible.  If  it  can 
be  done,  let  the  agglutination  of  the  visible  symbol 
with  the  reality  be  so  close  that  no  other  word  image 


28      THE  PRINCirLKS  OF  TEACHING   READING 

can  be  interpolated.  .  .  .  The  only  way  I  have 
found  to  acccomplish  this  has  been  to  supply  choice 
and  appropriate  text  for  reading  adapted  to  the 
child's  interest,  and  to  try  through  this  intense  in- 
terest to  provide  opportunity  for  the  visual  symbol 
to  make  by  degrees  for  itself  the  same  swift,  imme- 
diate, and  indissoluble  association  with  the  reality 
that  the  spoken  word  has.  .  .  .  Some  one  has  well 
said  that  words  are  like  panes  of  glass,  to  be  looked 
through,  not  to  be  looked  at." 

The  proposal  to  inhibit  the  vocal  image  raises  a 
very  serious  question.  In  favor  of  inhibition  is 
cited  an  assumed  economy  of  mental  activity  and  an 
alleged  increase  of  rapidity  in  silent  reading.  Let 
us  examine  these  arguments  and  see  what  they  prove. 

(i)  Mental  Economy.  —  Is  it  true  that  the  direct 
and  single  association  (if  such  were  possible)  be- 
tween the  visual  word  image  and  its  meaning  saves 
the  mind  useless  labor  ?  When  the  child  is  learning 
oral  speech,  we  have  already  seen  that  instinct  impels 
him  to  imitate  every  sound  he  hears,  both  before 
and  after  he  attaches  meaning  to  sounds.  Nature 
in  this  case  does  not  stop  with  the  mere  association 
of  sound  and  sense,  but  causes  every  sound  to  seek 
immediate  expression.     Speech  at  this  stage  is  a 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  READING       29 

sort  of  reflex  mechanism,  and  every  sound  stimulus 
runs  through  Broca's  Convolution  to  the  mouth. 
From  the  point  of  view  of  development,  expression 
seems  to  be  an  indispensable  link  in  the  chain  of 
association.  What  a  child  hears  he  utters;  what 
he  knows  he  tells.  When  he  has  no  companions,  he 
talks  to  himself  or  his  toys.  Ideas  that  flit  across 
his  mind  invariably  seek  outlet  through  some  form 
of  expression.  So  it  appears  that  nature  finds  it 
impossible  to  educate  a  child  without  language;  and 
/language  means  communion,  —  giving  as  weU  as 
receiving  ideas.  Has  not  one  of  the  most  serious 
charges  brought  against  the  school  of  the  past  and 
present  been  this  —  that  it  is  organized  chiefly  for 
listening;  that  it  requires  the  child  to  be  in  a  pas- 
sive, receptive  attitude,  whereas  he  never  individu- 
alizes himself  until  he  acts  or  expresses  himself 
through  the  muscular  system?  Why,  then,  if  ex- 
pression is  so  necessary,  should  an  exception  be  made 
in  the  case  of  reading?  Why  should  a  child  try  to 
inhibit  vocal  utterance  when  nature  seems  to  urge 
him  to  practise  it?  "A  series  of  experiments,"  says 
Colvin,  "recently  concluded  by  the  Department  of 
Psychology  at  the  University  of  Illinois,  in  which 
about  eighty  school  children  were  tested,  seems  defi- 


30      THE   rRINCIPLES  OF  TEACmNG   READING 

nitely  to  show  that  learning  for  all  grades  is  consid- 
erably facilitated  by  allowing  pupils  to  study  in  a 
whisper."  *  In  a  monograph  on  ''ideational  tj^ies," 
containing  a  series  of  original  experiments  and  a 
review  of  ten  well-known  studies  on  the  same  theme, 
Mr.  William  Parker  Wharton  comes  to  this  conclu- 
sion:  *'In  the  presentation  of  material  by  visual, 
auditory,  visual-motor,  visual-auditory,  and  audi- 
tor}^-motor  methods,  the  best  results,  for  correct, 
orderly  reproduction  by  primary  memory,  are  ob- 
tained by  the  visual-motor  (articulatory)  method, 
and  the  poorest  by  the  purely  acoustic  method."  ^ 
Dr.  Shimer  himself  witnesses  to  the  fact  that,  ninety- 
nine  times  out  of  a  hundred,  the  vocal  image  is  pres- 
ent ;  and  experimental  study  in  the  laboratory 
proves  that  it  is  absolutely  impossible  to  inhibit  the 
muscular  movement  of  speech  when  we  think.  In 
short,  words  are  essentially  motor. '"^  As  soon  as  they 
appear  in  consciousness,  they  fly  to  the  lips.  There 
are,  of  course,  types  of  mind  in  which  the  visual,  the 

'  The  Learning  Process,  S.  S.  Colvin,  The  Macmillan  Co.,  191 1,  p.  168. 

2  Experimental  Study  of  Ideational  Types,  William  Parker  Wharton, 
Thesis  for  Doctorate  in  Philosophy,  New  York  University,  1911. 

*"The  printed  or  written  word  is  a  symbol  not  of  an  idea,  but  of  a 
spoken  word.  The  normal  process  of  interpretation  seems,  therefore, 
to  be  from  the  printed  word  to  the  spoken  word,  and  thence  to  the  'idea.' ' ' 
—  The  Educative  Process,  W.  C.  Bagley,  The  Macmillan  Co.,  1905,  p.  318. 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  READING       31 

auditory,  or  the  motor  element  predominates;  but 
in  no  case  is  it  possible  to  eliminate  muscular  images 
of  expression  from  our  thinking.  Why,  then,  should 
we  try?  Goethe  has  well  said:  "What  you  do  not 
speak  of,  you  will  seldom  accurately  think  of." 
But  while  I  doubt  the  validity  of  Dr.  Shimer's  ex- 
planation, I  am  a  firm  believer  in  the  efficacy  of  his 
method.  The  economy  which  results  from  his  in- 
tensely interesting  subject-matter  comes,  in  my  judg- 
ment, from  the  vividness  of  the  impression.  Other 
things  being  equal,  memory  bears  a  direct  ratio  to 
the  strength  of  the  stimulus.  If  you  come  across 
a  strange  word,  like  aphasia,  in  the  course  of  a  day's 
desultory  reading,  you  may  not  remember  the  term 
ten  minutes  later;  but  if  the  same  word  happens 
to  be  the  name  of  the  disease  that  suddenly  over- 
took your  father  this  morning  at  nine  o'clock,  you 
are  not  likely  to  forget  it  as  long  as  you  live.  The 
stories  in  the  Progressive  Road  are  so  closely 
fitted  to  the  mind  and  heart  of  a  child  that  he  is 
eager  to  read  them;  and  he  spontaneously  makes 
the  effort  to  overcome  difficulties,  which  in  some 
reading  systems  must  be  mastered  by  dull  routine. 
To  quote  Goethe  once  more:  "In  every  new  de- 
partment one  must,  in  the  first  place,  begin  again 


32      TIIK  PRINCirLES  OF  TEACHING  READING 

as  a  child,  throw  a  passionate  interest  over  the  sub- 
ject ;  take  pleasure  in  the  shell  till  one  has  the  happi- 
ness to  arrive  at  the  kernel."  Now,  the  mechanics 
of  reading  are  the  shell,  and  the  passionate  interest 
a  child  has  in  the  right  kind  of  subject-matter  en- 
ables him  to  take  pleasure  in  the  shell  while  he  is 
looking  for  the  kernel.  And  in  this  procedure  there 
is  mental  economy,  because  the  activity  is  spontane- 
ous, and  without  a  sense  of  effort  or  fatigue.  In  the 
words  of  John  Dewey  we  may  say  that  reading  has 
become  a  means  of  self-expression. 

From  further  correspondence  had  with  Dr.  Shimer 
it  appears  that  so  far  as  the  actual  procedure  of 
teaching  is  concerned,  he  lays  as  much  stress  upon 
multiple-sense  appeal,  and  especially  upon  motor 
experience,  as  I  do.  For  example,  he  says:  "The 
teacher's  real  w^ork  [is]  truly  along  your  lines  of  pro- 
cedure, .  .  .  and  I  refer  again  to  the  Manual  of 
Progressive  Road  to  show  that  not  an  avenue  of 
approach  [is]  neglected.  Not  only  the  auditory  and 
the  vocal,  but  the  manual  and  visual  (including  the 
purely  retinal  and  the  oculo-motor)  [are]  used  in 
conjunctions  of  all  possible  varieties  that  the  occa- 
sion [demands].  From  the  very  start  phonics  [re- 
ceive] due  emphasis  in  clear  articulation  and  enun- 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  READING      33 

ciation,  so  that  correct  sound  values  [may]  be  se- 
cured from  all.  Then  there  [is]  gradual  addition 
of  phonetics  in  which  the  phonic  values  [are]  attached 
to  the  visible  phonetic  symbol.  Oculo-motor  and 
manual-motor  exercises  [help]  to  clinch.  .  .  .  When 
I  wrote  to  you  I  did  not  think  it  necessary  to  establish 
my  entire  doctrine,  and  may  have  dwelt  unduly  on 
this  phase  of  finally  estabhshing  in  the  pupil's  pro- 
gressive efforts,  not  a  short-circuit,  —  this  figure  is 
misleading,  —  but  an  automatic  subconscious  slide 
from  visible  symbol  to  thought,  so  swift  that  only 
the  starting-point  and  the  goal  would  be  high  in 
clear  consciousness." 

(2)  Increased  Rapidity.  —  Many  investigations 
have  been  made  that  tend  to  prove  that  individuals 
who  rely  upon  the  eye  chiefly  in  reading  forge  ahead 
more  rapidly  than  those  who  depend  largely  upon 
the  ear  and  lips  for  their  cue  in  making  out  meaning.^ 
At  the  same  time,  it  is  claimed  that  rapid  readers 
retain  more  than  slow  readers.  The  slow  reader 
can  reproduce  less  by  sight  than  by  sound;  while 
the  very  rapid  reader  can  recall  more  of  the  visual 
than  of  the  auditory.   (This  means  that  eye-minded- 

1 0'Shea,  Linguistic  Development  and  Education,  The  Macmillan  Co., 
1907,  p.  226. 

D 


34      THE   PRINCIPLES   OF   TEACHING   READING 

ness  is  an  important  factor  in  determining  reading 
rates.  In  other  words,  rapid  readers  are  generally 
of  the  visual  type.  Other  ways  of  stating  the  com- 
parison are  the  following:  "The  ten  slowest  readers 
show  almost  double  the  amount  of  lip-movement 
that  the  ten  most  rapid  do";  or,  the  "ten  most 
decided  lip-movers  read  4.  i  words  per  second ; 
while  the  ten  who  show  least  movement  of  lips  read 
5.6  words  per  second."  ^  From  these  facts  O'Shea 
infers  that  "the  greater  the  number  of  modalities 
that  are  involved  in  reacting  upon  any  word,  the 
greater  is  the  tendency  of  the  word-idea  alone  to 
absorb  the  attention,  and  so  defeat  the  end  of  reading. 
Therefore,  we  should  employ  methods  that  will 
reduce  the  auditory  and  vocal  processes  to  a  minimum 
or  eliminate  them  altogether  if  possible." 

I  believe  a  fallacy  lurks  in  these  inferences.  In 
the  first  place,  the  fact  that  a  reader  does  not  appar- 
ently move  his  lips  is  no  proof  that  he  is  inhibiting 
motor  images  in  his  thinking;  for  one  may  inhibit 
the  actual  movement,  but  not  the  tendency  to  move, 
nor  the  motor  image.  This  has  been  proved  by 
conclusive  laboratory  experiments  witnessed  by 
myself.     Furthermore,   the   implication    that   rapid 

1  O'Shea,  op.  cit.,  p.  227. 


THE   PSYCHOLOGY  OF  READING  35 

readers  remember  more  of  what  they  read  because 
they  suppress  the  motor  idea  is  contradicted  by 
numerous  experiments  on  memory,  which  show  in 
every  instance  that  recollection  is  better  when  the 
motor  image  is  added  to  visual  and  auditory  images 
than  when  the  muscular  idea  is  suppressed. 

The  facts  in  regard  to  lip-readers  simply  amount 
to  this :  that  visual-minded  people  apperceive  visual 
language  more  rapidly  than  the  motor-minded.^ 
Common  sense  would  lead  one  to  expect  this  very 
thing.  It  means  that  people  who  depend  chiefly  on 
the  sense  of  sight  for  information  and  memory  see 
more  rapidly  than  those  who  depend  upon  some 

^  "My  own  experiments  show  similar  results.  The  visual  readers  not 
only  read  more  rapidly  than  those  who  have  an  'inner  speech,'  but  repro- 
duce more  of  what  has  been  read  (judged  by  an  immediate  test:  I  do 
not  know  what  a  delayed  test  would  show).  Not  to  have  the  habit  of 
subarticulation  does  not  seem,  in  an  adult,  to  impair  understanding  or 
retention.  In  learning  to  read  it  seems  to  me  both  inevitable  as  an  ac- 
companiment and  indispensable  as  a  means.  If,  therefore,  the  distinc- 
tion of  visual  and  motor  types  in  readers  is  an  ultimate  (or  congenital) 
mental  difference  between  individuals,  we  can  say  that  the  visual-minded 
deal  more  easily  and  successfully  with  visual  material,  but  if  these  be,  in 
any  degree,  acquired  characteristics,  then  we  should  have  a  right  to  say : 
In  so  far  as  the  direct  visual  habit  can  be  cultivated,  it  is  of  advantage  to 
develop  it.  I  have  found  that  the  visual  readers  report  the  general 
amount  of  their  reading  to  be  greater  than  that  reported  by  readers  of 
the  other  type,  which  suggests  a  relation  between  practice  and  the  rise 
of  this  form  of  association. "  —  Professor  Robert  MacDougall,  New 
York  University,  in  a  personal  note  to  the  author,  commenting  on  the 
above  paragraph. 


36      THE   PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACHING   READING 

Other  sense.  It  is  my  opinion  that  children  are  all 
motor-minded ;  that  the  muscular  image,  as  some 
one  has  said,  is  the  greatest  psychological  discovery 
of  modern  times.  The  importance  of  the  motor 
idea  in  the  mental  life  of  the  child  is  shown  in  his 
passion  for  movement,  his  interest  in  the  action  and 
function  of  things,  his  instinct  of  making  and  han- 
dling objects,  his  manner  of  learning  oral  speech,  and 
in  reading  and  in  studying.  The  actual  movement 
of  the  lips  in  reading  will  tend  naturally  to  diminish 
as  the  pupil  gains  skill  in  speech.  But  the  motor 
images  remain  as  a  vital  element  of  the  total  associa- 
tion of  the  word.  If  this  were  not  the  case,  it  would 
be  impossible  to  utter  words  at  will,  since  there  must 
be  a  pattern  of  movement  in  the  mind  before  any 
voluntary  action  can  take  place  at  all.  One  other 
consideration  must  be  borne  in  mind  in  this  connec- 
tion ;  namely,  that  in  learning  to  read  the  child  is 
not  merely  getting  thought  from  visual  language, 
but  is  fashioning  a  tool  for  future  use.  The  word 
is  a  medium  through  which  one  sees  the  thoughts 
of  others;  but  it  is  also  an  implement  for  the  ex- 
pression of  one's  own  thoughts.  It  is  not  a  com- 
plete word  until  it  has  gone  through  the  motor  stage. 
Intelligent  educators  recognize  this  when  they  in- 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  READING  37 

sist  that  we  shall  not  teach  the  spelling  of  words 
that  children  cannot  use.  Now,  use  always  means 
a  motor  function.  Furthermore,  the  use  of  common 
words  must  be  automatic  in  order  to  be  effective. 
Hence  the  expressive  phase  of  words  cannot  be  elim- 
inated even  if  it  were  desirable  to  do  so.  In  the 
early  reading  lessons  the  most  difficult  problem  is 
to  get  the  child  to  remember  his  sight  words  and 
phonetic  elements;  and  the  motor  element  of  this 
learning  process  is  the  most  important  of  all  the 
clews  of  memory.    ' 


3l 

^0, 


CHAPTER   II 
THE   PHYSIOLOGY   OF   READING 

In  order  to  make  his  method  scientific,  the  teacher 
studies  not  only  the  laws  of  mental  development  and 
action,  but  tries  to  discover  also  how  activities  of 
the  mind  are  related  to  the  nervous  and  muscular 
functions  of  the  body.  Our  next  inquiry,  therefore, 
is :  What  are  the  physiological  factors  in  the  process 
of  reading  ? 

I.  The  Physical  Basis  of  Association.  —  In  physio- 
logical terms  we  may  say  that  if  two  or  more  groups 
of  brain  cells  are  stimulated  simultaneously  or  by 
like  objects,  a  subsequent  stimulation  of  one  of  them 
tends  to  produce  action  in  the  remaining  ones.  The 
cells  in  each  region  of  the  brain  and  of  the  different 
regions  are  connected  by  means  of  fibres;  and  all 
experiments  point  to  the  conclusion  that  these  con- 
necting fibres  are  involved  in  association.  Dr.  Vulpius 
says  connecting  fibres  begin  to  grow  in  the  outer 
and  inner  layer  of  the  cortex  about  the  fifth  month 
of  the  infant's  life,  and  cease  to  grow  at  the  age  of 
seventeen.    The  motor,  sight,  and  hearing  regions 

38 


THE   PHYSIOLOGY  OF  READING  39 

reach  the  maximum  number  of  fibres  during  the 
second  year.  The  speech  centre  keeps  on  increas- 
ing its  fibres  in  number  rapidly  until  the  eleventh 
year,  and  more  slowly  until  the  thirty-ninth  year.^ 
The  inferences  from  these  facts  seem  to  be  that 
the  necessities  of  the  infant's  life  call  first  for  the 
motor  development;  and,  as  movements  are  asso- 
ciated with  visual  and  auditory  impressions,  these 
centres  function  at  the  same  time.  The  motor  ap- 
paratus is  perfected  rapidly  after  the  fifth  month, 
so  that  at  about  the  age  of  one  year  children  usually 
begin  to  walk;  and  by  the  end  of  the  second  year 
the  growth  of  motor  fibres  culminates,  which  im- 
plies that  henceforth  nature  demands  a  tremendous 
amount  of  motor  activity.  The  rapid  development 
of  the  speech  centre  culminates  at  eleven,  which 
seems  to  mean  that  the  most  favorable  period  for 
language  teaching  is  at  that  age  and  immediately 
afterward.  This  corresponds  roughly  with  the  period 
when  the  child  in  most  European  countries  goes  to 
the  secondary  school  and  begins  the  study  of  a  for- 
eign language.  In  our  country  the  study  of  foreign 
language  is  postponed  until  the  age  of  fourteen.  ) 
European  practice  is  in  closer  harmony  with  physi- 

^ Frederic  Burk,  Pedagogical  Seminary,  Vol.  6,  p.  5, 


40       THE   PRINCIPLES   OE   TEACHING    READING 

ological  demands  than  our  own  procedure.)/  There 
is  an  agitation  now  going  on  which  seeks  to  end  the 
elementary  period  with  the  sixth  school  year,  j  This 
would  involve  a  complete  reconstruction  of  our  edu- 
cational system,  but  as  the  proposal  is  supported 
by  the  experience  of  foreign  nations  as  well  as  by 
the  teachings  of  brain  physiology,  we  may  in  time 
yield  to  the  argument.  ' 

2.  Localization  of  Brain  Function. — We  have  as 
yet  an  imperfect  knowledge  of  the  localization  of 
brain  function.  From  what  we  do  know  the  prob- 
ability is  strong  that  every  mental  activity  involves 
a  corresponding  physical  activity.  We  know,  for 
instance,  that  the  motor  area  is  located  on  each  side 
of  the  Fissure  of  Rolando.  The  region  above  the 
Fissure  of  Sylvius  is  the  speech  centre.  Hearing  is 
located  in  the  temporal  region.  Sight  is  in  the  occip- 
ital lobe.  These  facts  have  been  verified  by  several 
methods,  the  most  convincing  of  which  is  that  when 
a  given  region  of  the  brain  is  damaged  the  corre- 
sponding mental  function  disappears. 

(i)  Aphasias. — The  dependence  of  words  upon 
brain  substance  is  clearly  shown  in  the  following 
experience  of  Dr.  William  H.   Thomson,^  of  New 

*  Brain  and  Personality,  Dodd,  Mead  &  Co.,  1897,  p.  88. 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  READING  41 

York:  "I  was  once  hurriedly  sent  Jor  by  an  old 
patient  of  mine.  I  found  her  much  disturbed  by  a 
strange  experience  which  she  immediately  detailed 
in  the  well-chosen  words  of  an  educated  woman: 
'What  is  the  reason,  doctor/  she  said,  'that  every- 
thing in  a  book  or  newspaper  is  illegible  to  me? 
Last  evening  I  sent  an  advertisement  to  the  Herald 
for  a  waitress,  and  when  the  girls  came  this  morning 
I  could  not  read  their  references.  I  then  took  up 
the  Herald  and  found  that  I  could  not  read  a  word 
in  it.  At  first  I  supposed  my  eyesight  had  failed, 
but  I  could  see  everything  around  the  room  as  well 
as  ever,  and  so  also  with  my  crochet  work.  I  then 
opened  the  Bible,  but  could  not  read  a  word.  What 
is  the  matter  with  me  ? '  I  at  once  recognized  that 
she  had  been  struck  with  word-blindness.  .  .  .  Hav- 
ing calmed  her  excitement  as  best  I  could,  I  was  able 
to  note  that  she  had  absolutely  no  other  disorder  of 
speech  and  none  of  vision.  She  heard  every  word 
that  came  to  her  ears,  and  she  could  speak  as  flu- 
ently as  ever,  but  no  word  could  reach  her  conscious- 
ness through  her  eyes.  All  that  as  yet  had  hap- 
pened to  her  was  that  a  little  artery  which  supplies 
blood  to  a  small  area  in  the  visual  region  of  her 
brain  had  become  plugged,  with  the  result  of  totally 


42       THE  PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACHING    READING 

disorganizing  the  gray  matter  where  eye  words  are 
registered.  The  brain  gray  matter  .  .  .  immedi- 
ately dies  if  deprived  of  its  supply  of  blood." 

The  defect  described  here  is  called  by  scientific 
men  alexia^  and  consists  in  a  loss  of  power  to  read. 
The  printed  characters  are  seen,  but  they  convey  no 
meaning.  The  individual  thus  affected  may  be 
able  to  write,  but  is  unable  to  read  what  he  has  just 
written.     Words  as  visual  symbols  are  blotted  out. 

Another  form  of  aphasia  is  known  as  word-deaf- 
ness. A  man  thus  stricken  may  at  first  be  supposed 
to  have  become  insane,  because  he  talks  nothing 
but  gibberish  and  cannot  understand  anything  that 
is  said  to  him.  It  may,  however,  turn  out  that  he 
can  read  and  write  as  well  as  ever,  and  to  all  ques- 
tions put  to  him  in  writing  he  may  write  correct  and 
intelligent  answers.  He  can  hear  and  understand 
the  ticking  of  a  watch  and  the  notes  of  a  canary 
and  all  other  sounds  except  those  of  spoken  words. 
This  disease  is  caused  by  injury  to  a  small  area  of 
the  brain  which  is  described  as  a  part  of  the  left 
superior  temporal  convolution.  (See  "Wernicke," 
Fig.  5-) 

The  aphasias  thus  far  illustrated  are  of  the  sensory 
type.     Motor  aphasia  is  known  under  the  general 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  READING 


43 


name  of  apraxia  and  is  defined  as  "a  loss  of  ability 
to  perform  learned  or  skilled  acts,  in  the  absence  of 
paralysis,  or  ataxia,  or  pronounced  sensory  or  per- 
ceptional defect."  ^  A  man  retires  at  night  in  good 
health,  and  finds  himself  unable  the  next  morning 

Central  fissure 


Middle 

fronted  gyre 
PrecenlrcU  gyre 


Fissure  of  Sylvius 


Fig.  s- 
Reproduced,  with  permission,  from  Ladd  and  Woodworth's  Elements  of 

Physiological  Psychology. 

to  speak  a  word.  He  is  not  suffering  from  word- 
deafness,  for  he  understands  everything  that  is 
spoken  to  him.  Nor  is  he  affected  with  word- 
blindness,  because  he  can  read.  In  his  distress  he 
indicates  by  gestures  that  he  would  like  to  write ;  but 


^  Elements  of  Physiological  Psychology,  Ladd  and  Woodworth,  Scrib- 
ner's  Sons,  1911,  p.  254. 


44      THE  PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACHING  READING 

tliough  he  can  hold  his  pen  and  move  it  on  the  paper, 
he  can  find  no  words  to  express  himself  by  writing, 
an\-  more  than  he  can  by  speaking.  Words  as  motor 
images  have  disappeared  from  his  mind.  This 
affliction  is  usually  caused  by  an  injury  to  Broca's 
Convolution.     (See  Fig.  5.)         ' 

3.  The  Physical  Basis  of  a  Word.  —  Animals  have 
cries,  calls,  grunts,  squeals,  screams,  and  whatever 
other  sounds  there  may  be,  but  no  words.  Their 
language  corresponds  with  that  of  the  infant's  first 
stage,  when  his  only  utterance  is  a  cry.  The  cries 
in  each  instance  are  purely  instinctive.  The  princi- 
pal truth  about  a  word  is  that  it  is  the  result  of  a 
voluntary  act  of  the  mind.  Apart  from  a  thinking 
mind  it  has  no  existence.  Every  word  was  originally 
made  by  a  personality  which  designed  it.  The 
word  is  an  instrument  which  the  thinker  invents  for 
himseK  for  the  purpose  of  defining  his  thoughts^)* 
Feelings  may  be  expressed  by  a  cry  or  other  sound. 
They  do  not  need  words  to  become  true  feelings. 
In  fact,  language  usually  fails  when  we  try  to  ex- 
press our  feelings.  But  thoughts  need  words  to  be- 
come true  thoughts.  Hence  speech  is  the  basis  of 
man's  superiority  over  the  brute  creation. 

The  complexity  of  the  cerebral  elements  concerned 


THE   PHYSIOLOGY  OF  READING  45 

in  the  knowledge  and  use  of  words  is  shown  by  the 
manifold  sensory  and  motor  experience  that  verbal 
expression  involves.  Words  are,  in  the  first  place, 
objects  of  sense-perception.  The  spoken  word  is 
recorded  on  the  auditory  region  of  the  cortex.  The 
written  or  printed  word  leaves  its  trace  on  the  visual 
centre.  The  point-word  of  the  blind  produces  an 
impression  through  the  tactile  sense. 

There  is,  in  the  second  place,  a  large  variety  of 
motor  forms  of  reaction.  When  one  looks  at  a  word 
the  ciliary  muscle  is  exercised,  and  the  motores  oculi 
perform  their  share  of  the  labor  of  accommodation. 
When  one  observes  the  writing  of  a  word,  an  addi- 
tional motor  experience  is  furnished  by  the  eye  as  it 
follows  the  movement  of  the  point  of  the  writing 
instrument.  If  one  writes  himself,  the  eye  follows 
the  hand,  while  the  muscles  of  hand,  fingers,  wrist, 
forearm,  and  whole  arm  make  their  record  of  move- 
ment and  resistance.  The  spoken  word  exercises 
the  vocal  cords,  tongue,  lips,  larynx,  and  diaphragm. 
Assuming  that  each  of  these  motor  processes  in- 
volves a  separate  brain  area,  it  is  thus  evident  that 
the  mere  form  of  the  word  is  functionally  related 
to  a  vast  number  of  cerebral  elements. 

Alexander  Bain  was  one  of  the  first  of  modern 


46      THE   PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACfflNG   READING 

psychologists  to  discover  the  significance  of  the 
motor  idea  in  the  mental  life.  "Thinking,"  he  says, 
"is  restrained  speaking  or  acting."  ^  "A  child  can- 
not describe  anything  that  he  was  engaged  in,  with- 
out acting  it  out  to  the  full  length  that  the  circum- 
stances will  permit.  .  .  .  No  better  example  could 
be  furnished  than  the  vocal  recollections.  When  we 
recall  the  impression  of  a  word  or  a  sentence,  if  we 
do  not  speak  it  out,  we  feel  the  twitter  of  the  organs 
just  about  to  come  to  that  point.  The  articulating 
parts  —  the  larynx,  the  tongue,  the  lips  —  are  all 
sensibly  excited.  .  .  .  Some  persons  of  weak  or 
incontinent  nerves  can  hardly  think  without  mutter- 
ing —  they  talk  to  themselves."  "^ 

Commenting  on  this  passage.  Stout  says  that  Dr. 
Bain  "rather  understates  his  case;  this  habit  is 
by  no  means  confined  to  persons  of  weak  or  incon- 
tinent nerves.  It  is  often  found  in  those  who  become 
intensely  absorbed  in  their  own  trains  of  thought  to 
the  disregard  of  their  social  surroundings.  .  .  .  Ide- 
ational process  is  correlated  with  brain  process. 
The  brain  is  so  intimately  one  with  the  rest  of  the 
organism  that  processes  in  it  cannot  take  place 
without  in  some  measure  overflowing  to  other  parts 

'  The  Senses  and  the  Intellect,  4th  ed.,  p.  358.  '  Op.  cit.,  p.  357. 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  READING  47 

of  the  body.  .  .  .  Where  ideational  activity  is  just 
struggling  into  independent  existence,  so  that  it  may 
be  regarded  as  little  more  than  an  extension  or  supple- 
ment of  perceptual  activity,  ideas  can  scarcely  fail 
to  pass  into  overt  movements."  ^ 

(i)  How  a  Word  gets  Recorded  on  the  Brain.  — 
Three  speech  areas  have  been  determined  on  the  cor- 
tex of  the  brain,  —  the  auditory,  the  visual,  and  the 
motor.  These  are  normally  connected  by  fibres, 
so  that  stimulation  of  one  affects  each  of  the  other^/ 
The  sound  of  a  word  suggests  its  written  or  printed 
form;  the  sight  of  a  word  calls  up  its  sound;  and 
both  the  sight  and  the  sound  will  tend  to  inaugurate 
expression.  A  stimulus  acting  upon  the  sense-organ 
is  transmitted  to  the  brain,  where  it  affects  certain 
nerve-cells.  If  this  stimulus  is  repeated,  the  im- 
pression is  deepened.  The  constant  and  prolonged 
repetition  of  a  stimulus  will  thus  effect  a  permanent 
anatomical  change  in  the  brain  stuff.  This  change 
no  microscope  can  detect;  but  that  it  exists,  no 
intelligent  man  can  doubt.  The  words  that ,  one 
hears  produce  permanent  changes  in  the  auditory 
region.    The  words  that  are  seen  are  recorded  in  the 

^Manual  of  Psychology,  G.  F.  Stout,  Hinds  &  Noble,   N.Y.,  1899, 
pp.  468-469. 


48      THE  PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACmNG  READING 

Wsual  area.  Motor  images  of  expression,  whether 
oral  or  written,  are  supposed  by  some  to  be  the  exclu- 
sive function  of  Broca's  Convolution. 

In  1 86 1  Broca  first  announced  his  important  dis- 
co\Tr\'  that  a  certain  gyrus  above  the  Fissure  of 
Sylvius  on  the  left  hemisphere  is  especially  concerned 
in  exercising  the  power  of  speech.  He  ex-plained  the 
fact  that  aphasias  usually  follow  injury  to  the  leit 
half  of  the  brain  by  relating  speech  to  gesture,  one 
of  the  early  and  instinctive  modes  of  expression. '  As 
most  men  are  right-handed,  they  are  left-brained 
in  language.  ,Broca,  however,  spoke  of  a  "faculty" 
of  language  and  believed  that  its  physical  basis  is 
in  what  we  now  know  as  Broca's  Convolution. 
There  is  no  faculty  of  language  as  such,  whose  seat 
is  confined  to  any  particular  area  of  the  brain. 
Speech  involves  all  the  faculties  or  functions  of  the 
mind,  and  is  not  confined  to  any  one  cerebral  area. 
But  there  seems  "to  be  good  ground  for  still  re- 
taining Broca's  speech  centre,  while  reheving  it  of 
part  of  its  supposed  duties."  ^ 

Now  these  three  speech  centres  —  the  visual,  the 
auditory,  and  the  motor  —  do  not  create  words. 
They  merely  register  words  fashioned  by  the  human 

^  Elements  of  Physiological  Psychology,  Ladd  and  Woodworth,  p.  261. 


THE   PHYSIOLOGY  OF   READING  49 

spirit  and  keep  them  ready  for  use. )  Emperor 
Charles  V  is  credited  with  the  saying  that  a  man  is 
as  many  times  a  man  as  the  number  of  languages 
he  knows.  In  addition  to  the  various  forms  of 
aphasias  already  referred  to,  there  is  one  known 
under  the  name  of  asymholia}  (This  has  led  to  the 
inference  that  there  are  separate  cerebral  areas  for 
each  language,  as  well  as  for  figures,  music,  and  ob- 
jects, j  Thus,  it  has  been  shown  that  injury  to  the 
brain  may  blot  out  all  English  words;  but  leave 
Latin,  Greek,  and  French  intact.^  Similarly,'  there 
are  separate  areas  for  recording  music  and  figures; 
for  cases  are  cited  of  patients  who  -had  lost  the 
power  of  reading  music,  though  they  could  still  read 
words ;  and  Dr.  Thomson  treated  a  patient  who  had 
lost  the  power  to  read  and  write  words,  though  he 
could  both  read  and  write  figures,  and  continued 
active  in  business  for  several  years  after  his  misfor- 
tune had  overtaken  him.  He  never  recovered  the 
use  of  words,  but  retained  his  knowledge  of  figures 
to  the  end  of  life.^  ■  Perhaps  this  physiological  pecu- 

'  Ladd  and  Woodworth,  op.  ciL,  p.  252. 

'  Professor  Hinshelwood,  of  the  University  of  Glasgow,  in  Lancet, 
Feb.  8,  1902.  See  also  his  book,  Letter,  Word,  and  Mind  Blindness, 
London,  1901, 

'  Brain  and  Personality,  W.  H.  Thomson,  Dodd,  Mead  &  Co.,  1908, 
p.  102. 


50      THE   PRINXIPLES  OF   TEACHING   READING 

liarity  explains  why  a  child  learns  two  languages  as 
easily  as  one,  and  uses  the  two  without  confusion. 

When  a  child  learns  to  talk,  he  begins  with  bab- 
bling ;  that  is,  he  imitates  all  sorts  of  sounds  that  he 
liears,  merely  as  sounds.  He  plays  with  his  voice. 
This  shows  that  the  auditory  region  and  Broca's 
Convolution  are  so  intimately  related,  though  so 
far  apart  in  space,  that  every  sound  registered  in  the 
one  gets  itself  automatically  expressed  through  the 
other.  In  the  next  stage  the  child  recognizes  sounds 
as  significant ;  he  apperceives  them  as  words.  Then 
he  chatters.  Words  are  now  repeated  as  incessantly 
as  empty  sounds  were  before.  This  is  practice, 
practice,  practice,  but  all  instinctive,  all  in  the  form 
of  play.  Thus  unconsciously  and  without  formal 
teaching  oral  speech  is  registered  in  the  auditory 
area  and  in  Broca's  Convolution. 

We  have  already  pointed  out  that  reading  and 
writing  are  not  instinctive,  but  conventional.  The 
child  will  not  learn  to  read  and  write  through  mere 
playful  imitation,  as  he  learned  to  speak.  A  teacher 
becomes  necessary;  and  he  must  supply  artificially 
the  conditions  that  nature  provides  in  oral  speech. 
These  conditions  are  interest  and  practice,  practice, 
practice.    The    connection    between    the    auditory 


THE   PHYSIOLOGY  OF   READING  51 

region  and  Broca's  Convolution  is  fully  established. 
The  task  now  before  us  is  to  connect  the  third  or 
visual  area  with  the  other  two.  Drill  takes  the 
place  of  play.  The  seen  word  must  be  associated 
with  its  sound,  with  its  expression,  and  with  its 
meaning.  And  there  is  no  royal  road  to  success. 
All  we  can  hope  to  do  is  to  appeal  to  interest  and 
the  play  instinct  and  thus  imitate  as  nearly  as  pos- 
sible the  natural  conditions  found  in  the  case  of  oral 
speech. 

4.  Physical  Basis  of  the  Meaning  of  Words.  —  Sir 
William  MacEwen,  an  eminent  Professor  of  Surgery 
in  the  University  of  Glasgow,  gives  the  following 
interesting  particulars  in  the  case  of  a  mechanic  who 
had  received  a  severe  injury  to  his  head :  ^  Imme- 
diately after  the  accident  he  was  in  a  peculiar  mental 
condition.  Physically  he  could  see,  but  what  he 
saw  conveyed  no  impression  to  his  mind.  Thus  an 
object  presented  itself  before  him  which  he  could  not 
make  out,  but  when  this  object  emitted  sounds  of 
the  human  voice,  he  at  once  recognized  it  to  be  a 
man  who  was  one  of  his  fellow-workers.  He  was 
equally  unable  to  recognize  his  wife  and  children. 

1  Address  before  the  British  Medical  Association,  etc.,  British  Medical 
Journal,  1888,  Vol.  2,  p.  307. 


52       Tin:    rKlNClPLES  01'    TEACHING    READING 

By  eyesight  lie  could  not  tell  how  many  fingers  he 
held  up  when  he  placed  his  own  hand  before  his  face 
till  he  became  aware  of  the  number  by  the  sense  of 
touch.  These  symptoms  gave  the  clew  to  the  hidden 
injur}'  in  his  brain  and  told  the  surgeon  where  to 
trephine  the  skull.  The  operation  showed  that  a 
portion  of  the  inner  table  of  the  skull  had  been  de- 
tached and  become  embedded  in  the  gray  matter  of 
that  locality.  The  bone  was  removed;  and  then 
the  patient  recovered  and  returned  to  work. 
I  From  this  and  similar  cases  we  learn  that  seeing 
and  knowing  what  is  seen  are  not  the  same  thing, 
because  each  of  these  mental  processes  has  a  dis- 
tinct material  basis  m  the  brain.  We  have  already 
cited  a  case  of  word-blindness,  an  affliction  under 
which  a  patient  sees  words  but  does  not  know  what 
they  mean.  The  case  of  Professor  MacEwen  is 
called  mind-blindness,  although  it  is  no  more  such 
than  the  other.  The  significant  thing  in  both  cases 
is  the  fact  that  there  is  one  region  of  the  brain  which 
registers  words,  and  another  which  registers  their 
meanings.  ,  There  is  a  separate  area  employed  in 
seeing  objects  and  still  another  area  in  making  out 
what  the  objects  are.  We  have  already  explained 
what    is   meant   by    sound-deafness.     The   patient 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  READING  53 

hears  perfectly  the  spoken  words  of  others,  but  does 
not  know  what  they  mean.,  There  is  a  place  in  the 
temporal  lobe  where  sound  stimuli  in  general  are 
registered  and  an  adjoining  area  where  the  meaning 
of  sounds  in  general  is  recorded.  Let  this  latter 
region  be  separately  damaged,  and  the  victim  can- 
not tell  the  sound  of  a  boiler  factory  from  a  church 
bell.  All  sounds  are  alike  indistinguishable  noises. 
From  these  illustrations  it  is  certain  that  the  know- 
ing areas  are  distinct  from  the  sensory  areas,  but  in 
close  proximity.  In  other  words,  the  "meaning"  of 
a  spoken  or  written  word  is  registered  on  a  distinct 
cortical  area.  We  therefore  have  a  fourth  physiolog- 
ical factor  to  add  to  the  three  speech  areas  already 
described ;  namely,  the  word-meaning  centres.  And 
as  there  is  one  area  for  the  meanings  of  heard-words 
and  another  area  for  the  meanings  of  seen-words, 
the  total  number  of  speech  centres  for  words  alone 
is  five.;  If  we  recall  that  music  and  numbers  and 
foreign  languages  occupy  each  a  distinct  place  on 
the  map  of  the  cerebral  hemispheres,  we  get  some 
notion  of  the  complexity  of  physiological  func- 
tions involved  in  the  speech  of  an  educated  human 
being. 

5.  The  Relation  of  Left-and-Right-Handedness  to 


54       THE   PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACHING   READING 

Speech.  —  In  the  first  chapter  we  called  attention  to 
the  fact  that  when  the  child  begins  to  employ  ges- 
ture as  a  mode  of  expression  he  uses  one  hand  more 
than  the  other,  and  thus  determines  (or  shall  we  say 
indicates  ?)  whether  he  is  to  be  right-handed  or  left- 
handed.  We  shall  now  see  that  right-handedness 
and  left-handedness  bear  a  most  remarkable  physi- 
ological relation  to  the  development  of  oral  and 
written  speech.  It  is  well  known  that  the  left  brain 
governs  the  right  side  of  the  body,  and  the  right  brain 
governs  the  left  side  of  the  body.  Injury  to  either 
hemisphere  of  the  brain  produces,  therefore,  paraly- 
sis on  the  opposite  side  of  the  body.  It  should  also 
be  recalled  that  most  people  are  right-handed. 
With  these  facts  in  mind  we  proceed  to  quote  the 
following  statement,  written  by  Professor  Ladd  of 
Yale  in  1891 :  "Aphasia  is  far  more  frequently  due 
to  changes  in  the  left  than  in  the  right  hemisphere 
of  the  brain.  Dr.  Seguin,  out  of  260  cases,  calcu- 
lated the  proportion  of  aphasias  due  to  lesions  on 
the  left  side,  as  compared  with  those  due  to  lesions 
on  the  right,  to  be  as  243  :  17  or  14.3  :  i.  .  .  .  Such 
facts  have  led  to  the  theory  that,  in  all  but  left- 
handed  men,  speech,  like  other  motor  functions,  is 
chiefly  left-brained;  remarkable  cases  of  left-handed 


THE   PHYSIOLOGY  OF  READING  55 

people  who  have  become  aphasic  through  lesions 
on  the  right  hemisphere  are  actually  recorded."  ^ 

Twenty  years  later  the  same  authority  writes  as 
follows:  ''Simple  paralysis  or  loss  of  sensation  re- 
sults from  injury  to  either  hemisphere.  But  object- 
blindness,  word-blindness,  or  word-deafness,  the 
various  aphasias  and  apraxias,  usually  result  from 
injury  to  the  left  hemisphere."  ^  That  is  to  say, 
ordinary  movement  and  sensation  are  the  function 
of  both  sides  of  the  brain,  but  special  skills  and  the 
record  of  education  seem  to  be  the  function  of  one 
hemisphere  only.  The  patient  treated  by  Dr. 
Thomson  suffered  injury  to  Broca's  Convolution  of 
the  left  hemisphere ;  but  he  had  a  perfectly  sound 
right  Broca  which  had  no  record  of  speech.  Professor 
MacEwen's  patient  was  a  right-handed  man,  and 
the  splinter  was  driven  into  a  convolution  of  his  left 
brain,  or  the  speaking  hemisphere.  Now  he  had 
exactly  the  same  collection  of  cells  on  his  right  hemi- 
sphere, all  uninjured,  yet  these  could  not  help  him 
to  recognize  his  own  wife  and  children.  It  is  evi- 
dent, therefore,  that  those  cells  on  the  right  hemi- 

1  Elements  of  Physiological  Psychology,  George  Trumbull  Ladd,  Scrib- 
ner's  Sons,  1901,  p.  295. 

*  Elements  of  Physiological  Psychology,  Ladd  and  Woodworth,  Scrib- 
ner's  Sons,  1911,  p.  263. 


56      THi:   PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACHING   READING 

sphere  could  see  because  they  belonged  to  the  visual 
area,  yet  they  did  not  know  what  they  saw.  Though 
belonging  to  an  adult  man,  they  had  never  been 
taught  the  meaning  of  visual  objects,  and  did  not 
know  what  they  saw  any  more  than  an  infant  knows 
what  it  sees  the  first  week  of  life. 
/  All  our  education,  therefore,  is  registered  on  one 
side  of  the  brain  only.  If  that  side  is  injured,  some 
mental  functions  disappear;  if  the  uneducated  side 
is  damaged,  intelligence  remains  intact,  although 
paralysis  may  ensue.  "It  would  seem,  from  the 
evHidence  obtained,  that  the  left  hemisphere  so 
completely  takes  charge  of  acts  of  skill,  and  of  in- 
tellectual processes  concerned  in  them,  as  to  leave 
nothing  for  the  great  bulk  of  the  right  hemisphere 
to  do.  Such  a  conclusion  is,  of  course,  in  itself  ex- 
tremely improbable,  especially  in  view  of  the  nearly 
equal  size  and  inner  development  of  the  two  hemi- 
spheres; but  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  role  of 
the  right  hemisphere,  aside  from  the  simplest  sen- 
sory and  motor  functions,  is  not  at  all  clearly  made 
out."  1 

"  A  man  who  was  one  of  the  strongest  thinkers  and 

^Elements  of  Physiological  Psychology,  Ladd  and  Woodworth,  191 1, 
p.  264. 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  READING  57 

one  of  the  greatest  masters  of  English  style  that  I 
have  ever  known,"  says  Dr.  Thomson/  "had  his 
mind  totally  wrecked  one  morning  by  an  apoplectic 
clot.  But  though  he  lived  for  months  afterwards 
with  his  right  brain  hemisphere  apparently  as  sound 
as  ever,  yet  he  could  not  recognize  the  dearly  loved 
members  of  his  family  either  by  sight  or  by  their 
voices.  His  intelligence  was  simply  suddenly  anni- 
hilated by  the  injury  in  his  left  hemisphere."  The 
same  writer  cites  the  following  remarkable  case: 
A  patient  forty-seven  years  of  age  awoke  one  morn- 
ing with  his  whole  left  side  numb  and  paralyzed. 
"He  remained  thus  paralyzed  ten  years  till  he  died, 
but  meantime  his  speech  was  perfectly  normal,  his 
reading  good,  and  his  memory  unaffected.  He  gave 
no  sign  of  mental  weakness,  but  was  always  intelli- 
gent, patient,  cheerful,  and  particularly  good  in 
attention.  He  read  papers  constantly  and  liked 
to  talk  politics.  He  bore  his  disability  bravely,  and 
was  neither  depressed,  emotional,  irritable,  nor 
apathetic.  At  the  autopsy  a  large  cyst  full  of  fluid 
occupied  the  anterior  part  of  the  right  hemisphere, 
with  the  whole  tissue  disorganized  and  without  any 

^  Brain  and  Personality,  W,  H.  Thomson,  Dodd,  Mead  &  Co.,  N.Y., 
1908,  p.  237. 


58      TIIE   PRINCirLES  OF   TEACHING   READING 

remains  of  gray  matter,  while  the  posterior  half  of 
the  hemisphere  was  ever>'where  atrophied." 

Now  what  determines  which  hemisphere  shall  be 
educated  ?  Most  men  are  right-handed,  hence  apha- 
sias and  apraxias  occur  generally  from  injury  to  the 
left  brain.  "This  special  culture  of  the  left  hemi- 
sphere —  if  we  may  so  express  the  fact  —  may  well 
enough  be  connected,  both  as  cause  and  effect,  with 
the  prevalent  right-handedness  of  the  human  spe- 
cies." Thus  Ladd  and  Woodworth.^  Some,  more 
bold,  have  ventured  the  statement  that  the  hand 
that  an  infant  uses  predominantly  for  gesture 
determines  not  only  whether  he  is  to  be  right-handed 
or  left-handed,  but  also  whether  his  right  or  left 
hemisphere  is  to  be  educated.  Apparently  no  area 
of  the  brain  ever  interchanges  its  capacity  with  any 
other.  The  auditory  area  cannot  be  taught  to  see, 
the  visual  area  cannot  be  taught  to  hear,  and  neither 
of  them  can  take  the  place  of  Broca's  Convolution. 
Neither  can  the  seeing  area  be  taught  to  know  what 
is  seen  or  the  hearing  area  to  know  the  meaning  of 
sounds.  Recoveries  in  aphasia  are  explained  on  the 
theory  that  there  has  been  no  total  destruction  of 
tissue,  or  that  the  corresponding  area  in  the  opposite 

*  op.  oil.,  p.  264. 


THE   PHYSIOLOGY  OF  READING  59 

hemisphere  has  been  educated  to  do  the  work  of  the 
injured  one.  In  young  persons,  while  the  nervous 
system  is  still  plastic,  this  is  possible.  But  after  the 
age  of  fifty  it  is  usually  impossible  to  induce  the  un- 
educated hemisphere  to  learn  any  new  tricks. 

6.  Muscular  Movements  involved  in  Reading. — 
Numerous  attempts  have  been  made  to  ascertain 
the  exact  behavior  of  the  eyes  when  we  read.^  By 
these  studies  the  following  facts  have  been  estab- 
lished :  — 

(i)  By  means  of  photographs  and  recording 
apparatus  attached  to  the  eyes,  it  can  be  proved 
that  the  eyes  in  reading  do  not  travel  at  a  uniform 
rate  of  speed  across  the  page,  but  move  along  in 
steps. 

(2)  These  steps  vary  in  size  and  number  from 
line  to  line  in  the  case  of  a  single  individual.  In 
Fig.  6  we  have  the  record  of  four  successive  read- 
ings of  a  hne  by  the  same  subject.^  The  short  ver- 
tical lines  show  where  the  pauses  were  made.  The 
figures  at  the  right  indicate  the  number  of  pauses. 

^  The  most  noteworthy  of  these  studies  are  found  in  the  following  two 
volumes :  {a)  The  Psychology  of  Reading,  by  Walter  F.  Dearborn, 
Science  Press,  N.Y.,  1906;  {b)  The  Psychology  and  Pedagogy  of  Reading, 
by  Edmund  B.  Huey,  The  Macmillan  Co.,  1908. 

2  Dearborn,  op.  cit.,  p.  75. 


6o      THE   TRTXCIPLKS  OF  TEACHING   READING 

The  figures  over  Ihe  words  indicate  the  duration  of 
the  pause  in  thousandths  of  a  second.  When  the  fixa- 
tion was  unsteady,  a  bracket  and  curve  show  the  be- 
ginning and  ending  of  the  oscillation.  The  shift  is 
from  bracket  to  curve.    The  second  reading  in  the 

Successive   Readings  by  the   Same  Subject  op  a   Newspaper 

Column  « 


I 


CHART  I  A 


5A  dT.  PETE|RSBUR|0,  Nov.|  21— Thie  A(J[m)Iralty  6 

460  140  MO  ZM 

13B  ST.  PE[TE)RSBURG,  {N)ov.  2.]— The  Ad[in)Iralty        4 

200  leO  160  S40 

15A  1ST.  PET|ERSBURG.  Nov.   12.— )The  A<lmlira)lty  4 

*>  440  SIO  200 

16B  ST.  PETER|SBURG.  Nov.  2.— The|  Admtlra)lty  3 

Fig.  6. 
From  Dearborn's  Psychology  of  Reading,  by  permission. 

case  was  made  a  month  after  the  first;  the  others 
were  made  immediately  after  the  second. 

(3)  The  steps  vary  in  size  and  number  in  difTerent 
individuals.  In  Fig.  7  we  have  the  record  of  five 
subjects,  whose  steps  vary  in  number  from  3  to  7 
for  the  same  line. 

(4)  Children  take  more  steps  than  adults  and  move 
more  slowly.  This  characteristic  is  verified  by  com- 
mon observation.  Beginners  in  reading  assist  the 
eye  in  its  long  journey  across  the  page  by  the  use 


THE   PHYSIOLOGY  OF  READING  6i 

of  the  fingers,  which  mark  the  numerous  stopping 
places.  Thus,  tests  made  by  Dearborn  ^  on  three 
children  aged  9,  10,  and  11,  respectively,  show  in 
the  youngest  subject  about  double  the  number  of 

Readings  by  Five  Subjects  of  the  Same  NEwa»APER  Passage 

s 

I  CHABT  II  I 

1  i 

S43  183  1S3  881 

T  ST.   PB(TB]RSBUR|G.   Notv.)    2.— Th|e  Admiralty  4 

490  140  140  2S0 

H  ST.  PB[TERSBURG,   [N)ov.   2.-|-The  Ad[m)iralty  4 

416  306         136  186  340 

S  [ST.   ]PETBR|S(B]URG,  Nov].  2.~(Tli]e  Admiralty  4 

670  *"        ''»1U6  646 

P  ST.  P|ETERSBUR[G.  Nov).  2.— The  Atdm)iralty  3 

811    148        140      171       Sil         163        273 

M  (S[T.  |PE]TER|SBURtG,  )No[v.)  2.— [Tli)e  Ad|miralty      7 

Fig.  7. 
From  Dearborn's  Psychology  of  Reading,  by  permission. 

pauses  found  in  the  case  of  ordinary  adult  reading. 
(See  Fig.  8.) 

(5)  All  the  seeing  takes  place  during  the  pauses. 
While  the  eye  is  moving  from  one  fixation  to  another, 
it  cannot  see.  The  exact  length  of  each  pause  can 
be  ascertained  as  well  as  the  total  time,  and  a  cal- 
culation shows  that  the  eye-movement  between 
pauses  is  so  rapid  that  a  fusion  of  stimuli  results  and 
makes  vision  impossible.    In  reading,  the  eye  takes 

^Op.cU.,p.g7. 


62      THE  PRINCIPLES  OF   TEACmNG   READING 

a  fixed  position,  then  surveys  the  line  for  some  dis- 
tance on  each  side  of  the  fixated  point,  taking  in  at 
a  glance  all  the  letters  within  the  range  of  clear  vision, 
after  which  it  passes  on  to  a  new  point  of  observation.j 

(6)  It  has  been  proved,  further,  that  adults  in 
reading  do  not  attend  to  individual  letters,  but  recog- 
nize them  in  groups.     Thus,  with  a  reaction  machine 

CHART  XVII  B 
C.  L.     Third  Grade.    Age   11.    First  Reading 

507        493  230  •W?  28«  US3 

t     K[i)n[g  Mi)das  thought,  a[n)d  thought.|     At  last|  |h|el  9 

k    b    c  d  •         f  h  g  i 

aSO   t4«    174       190   196  499        766     666        368     773 

loo|ked|  at  t|he  8tr|ang|erl  and  sa[id).  t")I  wishj  that[)  11 

f     • 

784         179  I4C       186      167        879       420      4M  426  319  370  SK 

ev[e)r)ythin|g  [that  I  |touc[h  ma)y  [tur)n  [to)   go|ld[.")  |    |     |        12 

t  db  c«  I  fhjgkl 

Fig.  8. 
From  Dearborn's  Psychology  of  Reading,  by  permission. 

it  is  ascertained  that  a  word  of  five  letters  is  recog- 
nized in  the  same  time  that  is  required  for  the  identi- 
fication of  a  single  letter  standing  by  itself.  On 
page  loo  of  Huey's  Psychology  of  Reading  are 
four  columns  of  reading  matter.  The  first  column 
contains  25  letters;  the  second  contains  25  words 
of  4  letters  each;  the  third  contains  25  words  of  8 


THE   PHYSIOLOGY  OF  READING  63 

letters  each;  and  the  last  column  contains  25  words  of 
12  letters  each.  I  tested  a  high  school  girl  on  the  first 
three  columns  with  the  following  result :  first  column, 
7  seconds ;  second  column,  10  seconds ;  third  column, 
12  seconds.  This  means  that  it  required  only  three- 
sevenths  more  time  to  read  100  letters  in  the  form 
of  words  than  was  required  to  read  25  letters  stand- 
ing alone.  It  required  only  one-fifth  more  time  to 
read  200  letters  in  the  form  of  words  than  was  re- 
quired to  read  100  letters  in  the  form  of  words.  The 
same  experiment  with  a  college  freshman  resulted 
as  follows :  letters,  1 1  seconds ;  second  column,  1 2 
seconds;  third  column,  16  seconds.  In  terms  of 
percentage,  the  test  with  the  girl  means  this :  to 
read  25  single  letters  requires  seven  seconds;  com- 
bine the  letters  into  words  of  four  letters  each,  and  she 
can  read  four  times  as  many  letters  in  only  43  per  cent 
more  time ;  combine  the  letters  into  words  of  eight 
letters  each,  and  she  can  read  eight  times  as  many 
letters  in  only  71  per  cent  more  time.  The  freshman's 
test  shows  that  with  about  10  per  cent  more  time 
than  it  takes  to  read  25  single  letters  he  can  read  25 
words  of  four  letters  each,  and  with  about  45  per  cent 
more  time  he  can  read  25  words  of  eight  letters  each. 
The  conclusion  is  inevitable  that,  in  reading,  words 


64      THE   PRINCIPLES  OK  TEACHING   READING 

arc  recognized  as  wholes ;  or  that  the  letters  com- 
posing words  are  recognized  in  groups. 

(7)  Experiments  on  muscular  memory '  have 
shown  that  motor  images  are  an  important  part  of 
our  mcmor}'  of  words,  and  that  there  is  so  strong 
a  tendency  to  muscular  movement  of  articulation 
when  we  think  of  a  word,  that  it  is  impossible  en- 
tirely to  inhibit  the  movement.  These  movements 
of  articulation,  like  the  movement  of  the  eyes  in 
reading,  represent  words  as  wholes.  Indeed,  as 
Judd  says,  the  eye-movements  across  the  page  seem 
to  undergo  a  further  reduction  by  which  a  single 
unitary  movement  may  correspond  to  a  whole  group 
of  words,  rather  than  to  single  words.  Cattell  found 
one  reader  who  could  read  seven  words  at  a  single 
exposure,  and  several  who  could  read  four  words. 

(8)  The  fact  that  the  steps  of  the  eye  across  the 
page  are  shorter  in  the  case  of  children  than  of  adults 
shows  that  the  grouping  of  word  elements  into 
thought  wholes  is  a  matter  of  development.  The 
strong  tendency  of  children  to  read  words  as  individ- 
uals rather  than  as  elements  of  a  larger  thought 
group  confirms  the  above  conclusion. 

'  T.  S.  Smith,  American  Journal  of  Psychology,  July,  1896  ;  Charles 
H.  Judd,  Genetic  Psychology  for  Teachers,  D.  Appleton  &  Co.,  1903,  p.  244. 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  READING  6$ 

(9)  The  eye  has  a  tendency  to  form  short-lived 
motor  habits.  For  instance,  a  subject,  in  reading 
nine  Hnes,  read  the  first  four  with  four  fixation 
pauses  for  each,  and  the  next  five  with  three  pauses  for 
each.  Rapid  readers  form  these  habits  more  easily 
than  slow  readers.  There  are  relatively  fewer  pauses 
when  the  lines  are  short,  of  uniform  length,  and  of 
equal  indentation,  than  when  the  lines  are  long,  of 
variable  length,  and  irregularly  indented. 

(10)  Dearborn  announces  his  conclusion  that  the 
"size  of  the  type  should  not  be  so  large  in  compari- 
son with  the  length  of  line  that  but  few  words  can 
be  put  on  a  line."  The  effect  of  too  large  a  type  is 
to  increase  unnecessarily  the  number  of  movements 
and  pauses.  A  line  from  75  to  85  mm.,  or  about 
a  third  longer  than  the  ordinary  line  of  the  New 
York  dailies,  with  type  1.15  mm.  in  height,  com- 
bines many   advantages. 

(11)  The  chief  factor  in  determining  the  fixation 
pause  seems  to  be  the  unit  of  apperception.  This 
unit  is  small  in  the  case  of  numerals,  abbreviations, 
connective  elements,  and  long  in  the  case  of  nouns, 
adjectives,  verbs,  and  familiar  phrases.  A  new 
fixation  is  made  for  each  unit  of  apperception. 

7.  The  Meaning  of  Words  is   Largely  Motor.  — 


66      THE   PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACHING   READING 

Miss  Adelaide  M.  Abell,  in  Educational  Review  for 
October,  1S94,  reports  the  results  of  experiments  in 
reading  upon  Wellesley  College  girls.  The  girls 
were  told  to  read  a  short  story  at  a  given  hour  and  to 
time  themselves.  A  few  hours  later  they  were  asked 
to  reproduce  the  story  as  nearly  verbatim  as  possible  to 
test  comprehension  and  memory.  The  result  showed 
that  the  slowest  reader  required  six  times  as  much 
time  as  the  fastest.  It  showed  also  that  slow  readers 
"gain  by  slowness"  and  that  comprehension  does  not 
depend  upon  whether  one  reads  slowly  or  rapidly/  In 
spite  of  this  conclusion,  Miss  Abell  ventures  what  ap- 
pears to  me  the  illogical  opinion  that  lip-movement  is 
a  hindrance,  and  should  be  discouraged  in  children.) 
Huey  tested  twenty  graduate  students  in  a  uni- 
versity, all  of  whom  were  necessarily  extensive 
readers.  The  range  of  rate  was  from  2.5  words  per 
second  to  9.8  words.  "Lip-movement  was  usual 
with  only  two  or  three  of  the  twenty  readers,  but 
one  of  the  fastest  readers  tested  was  a  lip-mover."  ^ 
This  shows  that  the  prevalence  of  the  motor  process 
is  not  the  sole  cause  of  slow  reading.  Such  ele- 
ments as  general  habits  of  visual  perception,  prac- 

1  The  Psychology  and  Pedagogy  of  Reading,  The  Macmillan  Co.,  1908, 
P-  I7S- 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  READING  67 

tice  in  reading  from  childhood,  power  of  concentra- 
tion, and  mental  alertness  are  recognized  by  Huey 
as  factors  in  the  reading  rate.  Romanes  ^  confirms 
the  conclusion  that  rapidity  of  reading  is  not  nec- 
essarily accompanied  by  brilliancy  of  intellect. 
"There  is  no  relationship,"  he  declares,  "between 
rapidity  of  perception  .  .  .  and  intellectual  activity, 
for  I  have  tried  the  experiment  with  several  highly 
distinguished  men  in  science  and  literature,  whom 
I  found  to  be  slow  readers."  After  a  detailed  ac- 
count of  certain  experiments  on  interpretation  of 
what  is  read  and  the  nature  of  meaning,  Huey  says : 
"We  may  safely  conclude,  then,  that  meanings  in 
reading  are  mainly  feeling-reactions  and  motor  atti- 
tudes attaching  most  intimately  to  or  fused  with 
the  inner  utterance  of  the  words  and  especially  of 
the  sentences  that  are  read.  And  with  the  utter- 
ance in  which  the  meanings  mainly  inhere,  we  must 
include  the  movements  of  emphasis,  of  inflection, 
of  gesture,  and  of  expression  generally.  .  .  .  The 
feeling  of  these  bodily  postures,  attitudes,  gestures, 
etc.,  may  well  furnish  the  very  body  of  much  that 

we  call  meaning,  "i^ 

i 

*  Mental  Evolution  in  Animals,  George  J.  Romanes,  D.  Appleton  & 
Co.,  1893,  p.  136.  ^Op.  cii.,  p.  167. 


6S      Tin:    PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACHING   READING 

Here  we  are  face  to  face  with  a  new  fact,  which 
has  evidently  been  overlooked  by  all  those  who  have 
advised  us  to  discourage  lip-movement,  and  have 
even  endeavored  to  eliminate  altogether  the  vocal 
image  of  the  word.  Such  a  procedure  they  call  short- 
circuiting  the  association  between  the  visual  word 
and  its  meaning.  But  now  we  are  confronted  by 
the  remarkable  statement  from  one  of  those  who 
himself  is  opposed  to  lip-reading  that  meaning  itself 
is  motor.  When,  therefore,  we  eliminate  the  articu- 
lation of  words,  we  destroy  a  part  of  their  meaning ; 
and  thus  the  teacher  who  undertakes  to  make  the 
direct  and  simple  association  between  the  visual 
image  of  the  word  and  its  meaning,  will  find  his  task 
impossible.  "There  can  be  little  doubt,"  says 
Huey,^  "  that  the  main  meaning  comes  to  conscious- 
ness only  with  the  beginning  of  the  sentence-utter- 
ance, and  the  reader  does  not  feel  that  he  has  the 
complete  sense  until  he  has  spoken  it." 

8.  Posture  of  Pupil.  —  An  important  part  in  oral 
reading  is  the  muscular  control  involved  in  the 
posture  of  the  pupil.  One  difficulty  of  the  reading 
teacher  is  that  children  are  timid.  They  are  afraid 
of  their  own  voices.     Their  classmates,  unable  to 

1  op.  cit.,  p.  147. 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  READING  69 

hear  them,  are  liable  to  lose  interest,  and  then  the 
reading  hour  becomes  flat  and  unprofitable.  '  To 
avoid  this  serious  result,  the  teacher  should  start  by 
teaching  the  children  how  to  stand.  They  may  be 
called  one  by  one  to  stand  in  front  of  the  class,  to 
plant  themselves  firmly  upon  two  feet,  with  heels 
together,  chest  high,  and  body  erect.  Then  they 
should  be  directed  to  look  squarely  into  the  eyes  of 
the  audience.  After  several  attempts  they  can  do 
this  without  flinching.  In  this  way  they  secure 
courage  and  a  sense  of  power  and  repose.  Without 
the  possession  of  this  feeling  of  confidence,  no  pupil 
can  read  well,  j  Sometimes  a  child  may  step  to  the 
front  and  read.  If  this  consumes  too  much  time,  let 
the  pupil  face  in  the  direction  of  the  largest  portion 
of  the  class.  He  must  understand  that  oral  read- 
ing is  for  the  purpose  of  pleasing  and  instructing 
others;  and  therefore  he  must  endeavor  to  speak 
with  force  sufficient  to  enable  all  to  hear  him.  But 
he  must  on  no  account  be  permitted  to  go  to  the 
other  extreme  and  yell.  He  must  be  taught  by 
example  that  force  is  not  identical  with  noise, 
and  that  there  is  a  way  of  making  one's  self 
heard  even  with  the  use  of  ordinary  conversational 
tones. 


CHAPTER  III 

PRINCIPLES  DEDUCED  FROM  THE  PSY- 
CHOLOGY AND  PHYSIOLOGY  OF 
READING 

I.  From  Psychology 

(i)  Various  stages  may  be  distinguished  in  a  child's 
acquisition  of  language.  One  of  these  is  the  "bab- 
bling" stage,  when  he  uses  his  vocal  organs  as  a  play- 
thing. This  instinct  account"^  for  the  universal  popu- 
larity of  Mother  Goose  rhymes  among  children.  When 
the  child  repeats  these  rhymes,  with  or  without  mean- 
ing, he  trains  his  powers  of  speech,  even  as  he  develops 
his  muscular  system  by  physical  play. 

(2)  Gesture,  tone,  and  inflection  play  an  impor- 
tant part  as  auxiliaries  of  speech,  especially  during 
the  "chattering"  stage.  These  same  elements  are 
essential  later  to  the  appreciation  and  proper  ren- 
dering of  reading  matter. 

(3)  The  number  of  verbs  used  by  a  child  is  rela-^ 
tively  much  larger  than  in  -the  case  of  an  adult. 
The  child  imitates  movements  before  sounds  and  ex- 

70 


; 


PRINCIPLES  DEDUCED  71 

presses  many  actions  by  gesture.  These  considera- 
tions exhort  us  to  put  the  emphasis,  in  early  reading 
matter,  upon  doing,  action,  movement;  hence  the 
popularity  of  fairy  tales,  myths,  and  fables,  all  of 
which  have  the  narrative  form.-^ 

(4)  The  number  of  words  in  a  child's  vocabulary 
varies  greatly  in  different  individuals,  but  is  larger 
than  is  commonly  supposed.  A  child  of  two  may 
know  ten  or  fifteen  hundred  words.  In  the  first 
year  of  school,  children  may  learn  to  recognize  as 
many  as  two  thousand  printed  words.^ 

(5)  There  is  a  vast  difference  between  oral  lan- 
guage and  visual  language.  The  former  is  instinctive, 
and  self -acquired ;  the  latter  is  artificial,  and  re- 
quires a  teacher.  About  the  only  instincts  the 
reading  teacher  can  appeal  to  are  the  play  instinct 
and  the  social  desire  for  approbation.  Reading  is 
essentially  a  form  of  association;  hence  the  follow- 
ing laws  of  association  must  be  employed  in  our 
teaching  of  reading :  — 

(6)  Frequency.  —  The  recall  of  an  impression  de- 
pends upon  the  number  of  times  a  connection  has 
been  made  between  the  terms  that  are  associated. 

1  See  The  Action  Primer  by  Thomas  O.  Baker,  American  Book  Co. 

2  See  chapter  on  "  A  Quantitative  Study  of  Reading." 


72       TllE   FRlNCirLES  OF  TEACfflNG  READING 

Hence  the  necessity  for  constant  review  and  drill 
in  the  mechanics  of  reading. 

(7)  Vividness.  —  The  intensity  of  the  first  impres- 
sion is  an  important  factor  in  subsequent  recall.  In 
teaching  reading,  much  of  the  success  depends  upon 
the  skill  of  the  first  presentation.  The  vividness 
of  the  impression  depends  upon  the  nature  of  the 
stimulus,  —  the  clear  and  forceful  appeal, —  the  in- 
terest in  the  subject,  and  the  emotion  accompanying 
the  impression. 

(8)  Congruity.  —  Congruity  of  the  emotional  tone 
of  an  impression  and  the  mood  we  are  in  controls 
the  course  of  associations.  This  principle  exhorts 
the  reading  teacher  to  create  a  suitable  atmosphere 
before  undertaking  to  present  a  piece  of  literature. 

(9)  Interest.  —  That  in  which  we  are  most  inter- 
ested makes  the  deepest  and  most  abiding  impres- 
sion. Therefore  the  reading  teacher,  by  skill  of 
method  and  fitness  of  subject-matter,  must  appeal 
to  the  interest  of  the  child. 

(10)  Voluntary  Association. — Not  all  association 
is  controlled  by  the  mechanical  principles  already 
enumerated.  The  highest  type  is  voluntary.  This 
means  that  by  an  effort  of  the  will  we  can  determine 
our  mental  movements.     When  so  controlled,  the 


PRINCIPLES  DEDUCED  73 

process  is  called  thinking  or  studying.  One  of  the 
highest  functions  of  teaching  is  to  keep  the  children 
in  control  of  their  associations. 

(11)  Silent  reading  alone  is  not  sufficient.  The 
muscular  image  of  expression  is  an  important  part 
of  meaning,  and  is  an  essential  element  in  the  pro- 
cess of  learning. 

2.  From  Physiology 

(12)  The  motor,  sight,  and  hearing  areas  of  the 
cortex  reach  the  maximum  of  fibres  during  the  second 
year.  The  speech  centre  keeps  on  increasing  its  fibres 
rapidly  until  the  eleventh  year,  and  more  slowly  until 
the  thirty-ninth  year.  From  these  facts  we  infer 
that  in  teaching  a  child  to  read  we  should  employ  as 
far  as  possible  his  motor  activities.  We  infer  also 
that  the  age  of  twelve  is  a  more  favorable  time  to 
begin  the  study  of  foreign  languages  than  fourteen. 

(13)  The  principal  truth  about  a  word  is  that  it 
is  the  result  of  a  voluntary  act  of  the  mind.  Apart 
from  the  thinking  mind  it  has  no  existence.  Broca's 
Convolution  seems  to  be  essential  to  the  expression 
of  words.  When  this  is  destroyed,  vocal  or  written 
utterance  is  impossible.  These  facts  emphasize  the 
necessity  of  keeping  children  in  the  voluntary  control 


74     THi:  rRiNcirLi:s  or  teaching  reading 

of  their  associations  when  we  are  teaching  them  to 
read.     (See  Principle  lo.) 

(14)  A  child  learns  to  speak  by  instinct  and  with- 
out formal  teaching.  Reading  and  writing  are  not 
instinctive ;  practice  and  drill  must  supply  arti- 
ficially the  conditions  that  nature  provides  in  oral 
speech.     (See  Principle  6.) 

(15)  The  "meaning"  of  a  spoken  or  written  word 
is  registered  on  a  distinct  cortical  area.  Oral  speech 
makes  a  connection  between  the  heard  word,  the 
spoken  word,  and  the  meaning.  Teaching  a  child 
to  read  is  to  add  the  seen  word  to  this  complex  of 
associations. 

(16)  Only  one-half  of  the  brain  is  educated  in 
speech.  WTiich  half  shall  be  thus  trained  is  deter- 
mined or  indicated  by  left-and-right-handedness. 
The  hand  that  the  child  uses  most  for  every  pur- 
pose, including  gesture,  indicates  whether  he  will  edu- 
cate his  left  brain  or  his  right  brain.  Right-handed 
people  educate  the  left  hemisphere ;  left-handed  people 
educate  the  right  hemisphere.  Thus  we  see  the  vast 
importance  of  gesture  as  a  principal  mode  of  speech 
before  the  acquisition  of  words.     (See  Principle  2.) 

(17)  The  eye  in  reading  moves  along  the  line  in 
steps,  the  steps  varying  in  size  and  duration  accord- 


PRINCIPLES  DEDUCED  75 

ing  to  circumstances.  These  considerations  are 
important  as  bearing  on  the  length  of  Hne  and  size 
of  type  in  reading  books  for  beginners. 

(18)  Adults  in  reading  do  not  attend  to  individual 
letters,  but  recognize  them  in  groups.  This  impor- 
tant fact  suggests  the  propriety  of  teaching  to  be- 
ginners sight  words  as  wholes,  and  condemns  the 
alphabetic  method  of  teaching  reading. 

(19)  The  muscular  movements  of  articulation, 
like  the  movement  of  the  eyes  in  reading,  represent 
words  as  wholes.  This  fact  is  further  confirmation 
of  Principle  18. 

(20)  The  steps  of  the  eye  across  the  page  are 
shorter  in  the  case  of  children  than  of  adults.  This 
shows  that  the  grouping  of  word-elements  into 
thought- wholes  is  a  matter  of  development.  Con- 
stant effort  must  therefore  be  made  by  the  reading 
teacher  of  the  lowest  grades  to  get  the  children  to 
read  thought-groups  rather  than  word-units. 

(21)  The  eye  has  a  tendency  to  form  short-lived 
motor  habits.  There  are  fewer  pauses  if  the  Hnes 
are  short,  of  uniform  length,  and  of  equal  inden- 
tation. 

(22)  Experiments  have  shown  that  the  meanings 
in  reading  "are  mainly  feeling-reactions  and  motor 


76       THE    PRINCIPLES  OF   TEACHING   READING 

attitudes"  ;  that  tlie  utterance  in  which  the  meanings 
mainly  inhere  consists  of  emphasis,  inflection,  ges- 
ture, and  expression  generally.  All  this  points  to 
the  importance  of  oral  reading.  (See  Principle  2 
and  Principle  11.) 


LOS  ANGcLES 
STATE  NORMAL  SCHOOL 


CHAPTER  IV 
THE  ENDS  OF  READING 

1.  Twofold  Aspect  of  Reading.  —  In  our  considera- 
tion of  primary  reading,  we  must  at  the  outset  keep 
in  mind  two  distinct  phases  of  the  subject ;  namely, 
the  mechanics  of  reading,  and  reading  as  Hterature, 
These  two  problems  are  different  in  kind,  yet  are 
intimately  related;  for  learning  to  read  is  more  or 
less  of  a  drudgery,  since  it  involves  endless  repeti- 
tion and  drill  and  downright  hard  work,  while  read- 
ing as  literature  is  mainly  the  pursuit  of  pleasure. 
Reading  will  refuse  to  yield  its  pleasures  until  the 
mechanical  difficulties  are  mastered.  But  within 
recent  years  we  have  discovered  that  by  employing 
suitable  literary  material  in  the  beginning,  we  can 
facilitate  the  learning  of  the  pupil  and  relieve  the 
tedium  of  mechanical  drill. 

2.  Primary:  The  Mechanics.  —  (i)  Instant  Recog- 
nition of  Speaking  Vocabulary.  — The  object  of  read- 
ing in  the  first  years  of  school  is  to  train  pupils  to 
recognize,  pronounce,   and  interpret,   with  facility 

77 


yS       TIIK    PRINCirLKS  OF  TEACHING   READING 

and  accuracy,  the  words  of  the  printed  or  written 
page.  The  words  employed  during  the  first  two  or 
three  years  are  taken  largely  from  the  child's  oral 
vocabular}'.  Therefore  he  is  to  be  occupied  in 
recognizing  familiar  words  in  their  new  disguise. 

Reading  is  to  be  looked  upon  not  as  an  end  in  itself, 
but  as  a  means  of  acquiring  knowledge  and  pleasure 
from  books.  A  pupil  may  have  a  certain  mechani- 
cal fluency  in  reading  without  knowing  much  of 
what  he  reads ;  but  he  cannot  successfully  study 
any  other  subject  unless  he  can  read  understandingly. 
A  good  reader  can  get,  easily  and  rapidly,  the  con- 
tents of  a  book ;  but  to  make  one's  self  master  of  a 
printed  book  is  what  we  call  studying.  Therefore, 
no  matter  what  the  subject  of  study  is,  if  the  lesson 
consist  in  mastering  a  book,  the  poor  reader  is  al- 
ways at  a  disadvantage.  Twenty  teachers  were 
asked  each  to  write  the  names  of  ten  boys  who  had 
the  poorest  records  in  lessons,  and  to  indicate  the 
character  of  their  reading.  Of  the  two  hundred 
poor  scholars  thus  selected,  63  per  cent  were  put  down 
as  poor  readers  and  only  27  per  cent  as  good  readers. 
This  is  an  illustration  of  the  important  relation  the 
art  of  reading  bears  to  other  school  work. 

(2)  Analysis  of  Wards  into  Phonic   Elements. — 


THE  ENDS  OF  READING  79 

Another  object  of  primary  reading  is  to  train  pupils 
to  pronounce  words  with  accuracy,  ease,  and  proper 
force.  This  necessitates  attention  to  phonic  drills, 
Words  are  to  be  arranged  into  short  sentences  from 
the  first,  and  children  are  to  be  trained  to  read  these 
naturally  and  fluently.  The  drills  are  to  be  first 
on  reading  entire  sentences  with  expression  and 
clearness;  then  on  careful  pronunciation  of  whole 
words;  then  of  syllables;  and  finally  of  individual 
sounds.  The  individual  sounds  may  then  be  put 
together  again  into  syllables  and  words.  When 
this  stage  of  analysis  and  synthesis  has  been  reached, 
it  is  time  to  teach  the  names  of  the  characters  which 
represent  individual  sounds. 

As  to  the  order  in  which  the  elements  of  oral  words 
and  their  corresponding  written  symbols  should  be 
taught,  there  is  an  almost  infinite  variety  of  opinion. 
Some  would  teach  vdwels  first,  some  consonants. 
Some  good  authorities  prefer  to  begin  with  the  short 
vowels,  because  words  containing  long  vowels  usu- 
ally have  silent  letters,  e.g.  pat,  pate;  hat,  hate; 
kit,  kite;  rat,  rate;  rod,  rode;  pet,  Pete.  But 
others  offer  good  reasons  for  beginning  with  the 
three  long  vowels  a,  e,  0,  and  the  six  consonants  /,  /, 
m,  n,  r,  s.    Ward  prefers  these  sounds  because  they 


8o      THE   TRINCIPLES  OF  TEACHING   READING 

may  be  indefinitely  prolonged,  and  may  be  easily 
distinguished  in  any  blending  of  two  or  more  sounds. 
They  thus  lend  themselves  easily  to  phonetic  read- 
ing. To  me  the  order  of  teaching  these  elements 
does  not  seem  to  be  a  matter  of  great  moment.  But 
it  is  important  that  we  recognize  the  necessity  for 
the  work,  that  we  do  it  at  the  proper  time,  and  do  it 
witli  sufhcient  thoroughness.  My  experience  with 
reading  teachers  has  brought  me  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  sooner  the  child  learns  these  phonetic  ele- 
ments, the  more  rapid  will  be  his  progress  in  read- 
ing. For,  as  soon  as  he  knows  the  sounds  of  letters 
and  the  value  of  diacritical  marks,  he  is  able  to 
pronounce  unfamiliar  words  without  the  aid  of  a 
teacher. 

At  this  point  I  venture  a  digression  to  consider 
the  question  whether  the  reading  teacher  should 
begin  with  script  or  print.  Some  begin  with  one, 
some  with  the  other,  and  a  few  with  both.  The 
majority  of  successful  first-year  teachers  known  to 
me  prefer  to  start  with  script.  They  claim  that  it 
is  easier  to  pass  from  script  to  print  than  from  print 
to  script.  It  is  usual  to  devote  two  or  three  months 
to  script,  then  turn  to  print,  so  that  by  the  middle 
of  the  first  term  or  half-year,  the  child  shall  be  able 


THE  ENDS  OF  READING  8l 

to  read  out  of  a  book,  the  preliminary  work  having 
been  done  on  the  blackboard  or  from  charts. 
^^-  (3)  Recognition,  Representation,  and  Pronuncia- 
tion of  Phonetic  Elements. — When  we  reach  the  stage 
where  words  are  analyzed  into  their  individual 
sounds,  it  is  necessary  to  begin  the  use  of  diacritical 
marks.  If  the  language  were  phonetic  and  each 
sound  were  represented  by  a  single  character,  such 
marks  would  be  unnecessary.  But  in  English  we 
have  some  forty  sounds  and  only  twenty-six  charac- 
ters to  represent  them.  Our  alphabet  comes  with 
some  modifications  from  the  ancient  Phoenicians. 
The  alphabet  doubtless  represented  more  or  less 
accurately  the  oral  and  written  elements  of  the  an- 
cient language.  But  when  we  adopt  this  ancient, 
Oriental  alphabet  and  try  to  fit  it  to  our  modern 
language  with  its  new  sounds,  we  find  ourselves  in 
difficulty.  A  so-called  scientific  alphabet  has  been 
prepared  by  the  American  Philological  Association, 
which  provides  a  separate  character  for  each  sound. 
This  alphabet  is  used  by  the  Standard  Dictionary. 
But  its  adoption  has  not  become  sufficiently  general 
to  warrant  its  use  in  primary  reading.  There  is 
therefore  no  option  but  to  fall  back  upon  diacritical 
marks.    The  extent   to  which  these   marks  should 


8.-       THE   PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACHING   READING 

be  employed  is  a  point  ujion  whicli  a  wide  diver- 
gence of  ojMnion  exists.  Many,  like  Sarah  Louise 
Arnold  and  Superintendent  Brumbaugh,  consider 
them  a  necessary  evil,  to  be  tolerated  only  when  their 
presence  is  indispensable.  Others,  like  Ward,  have 
built  up  very  elaborate  systems  of  marks,  which 
constitute  essential  features  of  their  methods. 
There  are  some  hundreds  of  thousands  of  words 
in  the  English  dictionaries,  but  there  are  only 
forty  sounds,  as  we  have  seen.  Wliile  it  is  well 
to  begin  reading  by  teaching  whole  words,  it  is 
manifestly  impossible  to  learn  to  recognize  each 
word  separately,  since  there  are  so  many  that  it 
would  require  all  the  school  time  to  learn  them  in 
that  way.  An  analysis  shows  that  a  comparatively 
small  number  of  phonetic  combinations  enter  into 
the  composition  of  all  words.  These  elements  are 
known  as  phonograms,  and,  after  they  have  been 
mastered,  thousands  of  words  not  previously  learned 
may  be  read  by  the  pupil.  It  is  undoubtedly  true 
that  children  acquire  unconsciously  the  laws  of 
pronunciation ;  and  the  writer  is  of  those  who 
regard  diacritical  marks  as,  upon  the  whole,  a 
nuisance.  We  do  not  believe  it  is  necessary  to  de- 
face the  text  of  a  reading  book  by  the  use  of  any 


THE  ENDS  OF  READING  83 

marks  whatever.  New  words  may  be  taught  in 
columns  at  the  beginning  of  a  lesson,  and  in 
these  the  individual  sounds  may  be  marked.  We 
are  prepared  to  indorse  the  statement  of  Miss  Arnold, 
that  diacritical  marks  should  be  used  only  when 
they  are  necessary  to  pronounce  words,  and  that 
when  children  can  pronounce  without  their  assist- 
ance, they  should,  by  all  means,  be  allowed  to  do  so. 
Marks  are  but  means  to  an  end,  and  if  the  end  can 
be  reached  as  successfully  without  them  as  with 
them,  we  must  take  counsel  from  common  sense  and 
omit. 

(4)  Synthesis  of  Phonetic  Elements  into  Words.  — 
A  variety  of  exercises  may  be  employed  in  mastering 
the  phonetic  elements  of  our  language.  The  be- 
ginning will  be  analytic.  Sight  words  have  been 
taught  as  wholes.  These  will  be  analyzed  into  their 
constituent  sounds.  The  elementary  sounds  will 
then  be  separately  pronounced  and  represented  by 
the  proper  diacritical  marks.  Daily  drills  will  be 
required  to  make  this  work  thorough;  for  unless  it 
is  well  done,  the  time  spent  on  it  is  wasted.  To 
vary  the  drill,  elements  may  be  combined  again  by 
the  children  into  significant  words.  This  is  what 
Ward  calls  the  "blend."     Both  the  analytic  and 


S4       THK   PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACHING   READING 

sjTithctic  exercises  should  be  a  part  of  the  daily  drill. 
Familiarity  with  diacritical  marks  may  be  imi)arted 
by  requiring  pupils  to  mark  known  sounds  in  famil- 
iar words,  and  by  marking  unfamiliar  words  and 
requiring  pupils  to  pronounce  them.  By  the  way 
of  test,  the  teacher  may  secure  pleasing  variety  by 
a  sort  of  game  in  which  pupils  are  required  to  pro- 
nounce known  words  in  new  ways  in  accordance 
with  diacritical  markings,  e.g.,K^tfi;  Kat^;  Kat0; 
Kat^;  Kate;  Kiite;  Kate;  Kate;  I  saw  men  men 
pet  Pet. 

(5)  Meaning  of  Unfamiliar  Words.  —  Most  of  the 
words  in  the  reading  of  the  first  year  or  two  should, 
as  stated  above,  be  chiefly  such  as  are  already 
familiar  to  the  child.  But,  as  the  primary  school 
is  understood  to  cover  the  first  four  years,  there 
must  necessarily  be  many  new  words  in  the  reading 
lessons.  It  is  of  the  utmost  importance  that  the 
meaning  of  these  be  properly  explained  and  illus- 
trated, so  that  they  may  be  interpreted  by  the  child's 
experience  and  imagination.  This  remark  applies 
with  especial  emphasis  to  information  lessons,  such 
as  history,  geography,  nature,  and  even  arithmetic. 
Children  can  get  no  knowledge  from  books  whose 
words  are  enigmas;  and  frequently  children  fail  in 


THE  ENDS  OF  READING  85 

number  work  because  they  have  not  been  properly 
trained  in  arithmetical  language. 

(6)  Spelling.  —  Word  analysis  and  synthesis  nat- 
urally leads  to  spelling,  which  from  this  time  for- 
ward must  receive  careful  and  persistent  attention. 
During  the  first  year,  the  spelling  may  be  informal 
and  incidental.  The  child  during  this  period  is  not 
required  to  write  much.  But  during  the  second 
year  simple  exercises  in  spelling  may  be  given.  The 
child  has  now  learned  to  write  his  name,  and  is  able 
to  do  a  little  useful  work  in  copying  and  dictation. 
For  this  work  spelling  is  required. 

3.  Primary :  Reading  as  Literature.  — It  is  manifest 
that  the  literary  aspect  of  reading  is  a  very  different 
thing  from  the  mechanical  aspect.  The  one  has  to 
do  with  form,  the  other  with  content.  The  one  is 
a  tool;  the  other  is  the  very  substance  of  culture 
and  an  end  in  itself.  Literature  is  a  form  of  beauty, 
like  a  Raphael  Madonna,  and  "beauty  is  its  own 
excuse  for  being." 

(i)  What  to  Read.  —  Dr.  Hall  in  the  following 
paragraph  does  not  overstate  the  importance  of  the 
subject-matter  of  our  reading  in  the  schools :  — 

"Among  the  most  serious  of  the  pedagogic  prob- 
lems of  the  present  are,  therefore,  I  believe,  first,  the 


86      THE   TRIXCIPLES  OI'   TEACHING   READING 

selection  in  the  focus  of  the  best  intclHgence,  of  the 
best  reading  material  for  children  and  youth;  sec- 
ondly, the  experimental  gradations  and  often  trans- 
forming adaptation  of  it,  each  to  fit  age  and  grade ; 
and  thirdly,  the  elaboration  of  the  most  effective 
ways  of  teaching  it  with  all  energy  and  force."  ^ 

It  would  be  quite  impossible,  even  if  it  were  de- 
sirable, to  undertake  here  to  lay  down  a  specific 
course  of  reading  appropriate  for  the  different  grades 
and  ages  of  school  children.  The  material  is  so 
abundant  and  men's  tastes,  culture,  and  habits  of 
thought  differ  so  widely,  that  no  list  of  books  which 
any  human  being,  however  gifted,  could  select, 
would  meet  the  approval  of  a  majority  of  educators. 
What  one  can  do,  however,  is  to  indicate  the  princi- 
ples which  should  guide  us  in  our  selections.  All 
will  admit  that  the  mere  caprice  of  the  schoolmaster 
is  not  a  sound  basis  of  choice,  nor  is  the  opinion  of 
any  adult  to  be  relied  upon,  however  excellent  it 
may  be  as  to  the  literary  quality  of  books  in  pre- 
scribing the  reading  matter  for  children.  If  inter- 
est is  any  criterion  of  the  success  of  educational  work, 
the  children  themselves  must  be  consulted  in  the 
choice  of  reading.     Of  course,  children's  tastes  are 

^How  to  Teach  Reading,  G.  Stanley  Hall,  Heath  &  Co.,  1886,  p.  34. 


THE  ENDS  OF   READING  87 

not  the  only  basis  of  choice,  for,  undirected,  these  are 
satisfied  with  trashy  and  harmful  books  quite  as 
readily  as  with  good  ones.  The  adult  may  be  al- 
lowed to  decide  what  kind  of  reading  is  required  to 
fit  the  child  for  "complete  living"  and  may  also  be 
the  final  authority  on  the  literary  quality  of  the 
books;  but  among  the  materials  thus  accepted  for 
school  use  by  the  adult  judgment,  the  child  should 
be  allowed  free  choice,  governed  only  by  his  own 
taste  and  his  own  sense  of  need  and  fitness. 

(a)  Interest.  —  A  number  of  investigations  have 
been  made  in  recent  years  that  throw  much  light 
on  this  readmg  problem ;  the  results,  though  meagre 
and  inconclusive,  indicate  the  direction  in  which  our 
efforts  must  tend  if  we  are  to  substitute  a  scien- 
tific basis  of  choice  for  a  dogmatic  one.  A  study  of 
children's  stories  by  Clara  Vostrovsky,^  shows  that 
there  is  a  vast  difference  between  a  child's  way  of 
saying  a  thing  and  an  adult's  way,  even  when  the 
latter  is  writing  for  children.  After  quoting  a  story 
as  written /or  a  child,  and  the  same  as  told  by  a  child, 
Miss  Vostrovsky  says:  "In  comparing  the. two,  the 
difference  between  them  is  at  once  apparent.  In 
the  child's  stoiy  no  sentiment  is  expressed ;  nor  are 

^  Skidies  in  Education,  Stanford  University,  1896-1897,  p.  15. 


S8      THE  PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACHING  READING 

his  own  feelings  referred  to  in  any  way.  There  is 
Httle  of  the  esthetic,  no  description  of  dress  or  per- 
sons ;  and  not  general,  but  quite  definite,  names  are 
used  by  him.  On  the  whole,  the  child  gives  facts, 
and  lets  life  itself  speak  for  him."  The  various  ele- 
ments of  children's  stories  predominate  in  the  follow- 
ing order:  action,  names,  speech,  appearance,  place, 
time,  possession,  feeling,  dress,  (Esthetic  details,  senti- 
ment, moral  qualities.  The  last  five  combined  con- 
stitute a  mere  trifle  as  compared  with  the  element 
called  "action."  The  inference  drawn  from  these 
facts  is  that  "stories  for  children  should  be  true 
stories  of  child  life,  dealing  with  the  holidays,  etc., 
.  .  .  and  should  be  mainly  confined  to  action,  with 
little  description  of  persons  or  feelings." 

It  is  proper  to  add  that  the  age  of  the  children 
in  this  experiment  was  from  six  to  eight.  In  a  study 
of  children's  reading  tastes,  made  by  the  same 
author,^  the  conclusion  is  reached  that  there  exists 
the  most  marked  difference  between  the  sexes. 
"Girls  prefer  domestic  stories,  especially  stories 
about  children  like  themselves,  while  boys  care  more 
for  books  of  adventure.  .  .  .  No  boy  confesses 
to  a  purely  girl's  story,  while  girls  frankly  do  to  an 

^  The  Pedagogical  Seminary,  Vol.  6,  p.  523. 


THE  ENDS  OF   READING  89 

interest  in  stories  about  boys.  Women  writers  seem 
to  appeal  more  to  girls,  men  writers  to  boys." 

Mr.  Clark  Wissler,  director  of  the  psychological 
laboratory  in  the  Ohio  State  University,  has  made 
an  interesting  inquiry  into  the  interests  of  pupils 
in  the  reading  of  the  elementary  schools.^  Children 
were  asked  to  write  the  subjects  of  all  the  reading 
lessons  of  the  preceding  year  that  they  could  remem- 
ber; to  state  which  of  these  lessons  they  liked  the 
best,  and  why ;  and  to  name  the  book  they  would 
buy  if  they  could  have  only  one.  Papers  were  col- 
lected from  1950  children, —  1060  girls  and  890 
boys. 

As  to  the  kind  of  lessons  remembered,  the  returns 
show  that  the  first  is  always  remembered;  nearly 
all  the  lessons  remembered  are  in  terms  of  experi- 
ence the  child  can  realize  in  himself ;  the  lessons  re- 
membered most  are  especially  natural  or  lifelike. 
The  lessons  that  are  remembered  by  none  of  the 
children  are  the  merely  instructive  lesson,  the  moral 
lesson,  and  abstract  poems  concerning  duty,  happi- 
ness, and  the  like. 

The  returns  on  the  third  question  confirm  sex 

1 "  The  Interests  of  Children  in  the  Reading  of  the  Elementary  Schools," 
The  Pedagogical  Seminary,  Vol.  5,  p.  523. 


90      TliE   PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACHING   READING 

dilTorencc  indicated  by  Miss  Vostrovsky.  Mr. 
Wissler  says:  "Among  the  works  of  fiction  chosen 
by  girls  are  many  books  that  portray  the  home-life. 
.  .  .  Many  boys  prefer  fiction  reciting  the  exploits 
of  the  adventurer  in  the  garb  of  the  scout,  the  ex- 
plorer, the  soldier,  etc."  Among  the  additional 
conclusions  of  the  study  are  these :  — 

The  literature  most  appreciated  presents  the  true, 
the  beautiful,  and  the  heroic  and  the  good  in  a  con- 
crete way. 

The  complete  narrative  makes  a  lasting  impres- 
sion, while  the  story  in  outline  is  treated  as  unin- 
teresting. 

A  further  study  on  this  subject  made  by  Professor 
E.  A.  Kirkpatrick  confirms  some  of  the  preceding 
conclusions  and  brings  out  a  number  of  new  points. 
For  instance,  the  sexual  differences  already  noted 
are  strongly  emphasized  by  Professor  Kirkpatrick. 
"As  to  the  kind  of  reading,"  he  says,  "the  sexual 
differences  are  most  marked,  and  the  degree  of  dif- 
ference in  all  grades  is  surprisingly  large.  .  .  .  Boys 
read  about  twice  as  much  history  and  travel  as  girls 
and  only  about  two-thirds  as  much  poetry  and 
stories.  .  .  .  Teachers  are  almost  unanimous  in 
saying  that  boys  care  more  for  history'  and  stories 


THE  ENDS  OF  READING  91 

of  travel  and  adventure,  while  girls  care  more  for 
stories  of  simple  life.  .  .  ."  ^ 

The  dozen  most  popular  authors  or  books,  accord- 
ing to  these  returns,  stand  in  the  following  order: 
I.  "Black  Beauty";  2.  Louisa  Alcott's  "Little 
Men,"  "Little  Women,"  etc.;  3.  Stowe's  "Uncle 
Tom's  Cabin";  4.  "Robinson  Crusoe";  5.  Long- 
fellow's poems;  6.  Burnett's  "Little  Lord  Faunt- 
leroy,"  "Editha's  Burglar,"  "Sara  Crewe";  7.  Dick- 
ens's "Old  Curiosity  Shop,"  "Oliver  Twist,"  etc.; 
8.  Andrews's  "Seven  Little  Sisters,"  "Ten  Boys," 
etc.;  9.  "Beautiful  Joe";  10.  Scott's  "Ivanhoe," 
"Lady  of  the  Lake,"  etc.;  11.  Wiggin's  "Birds' 
Christmas  Carol,"  etc. ;  12.  Hughes's  "Tom Brown." 

Among  the  general  conclusions  are  the  following :  — 

"Objective  incidents,  actions,  and  specific  terms 
are  what  the  child  notices,  and  these  rather  than 
general  terms,  subjective  states,  .  .  .  are  what 
impress  children  in  a  story." 

"Interest  in  fairy  stories  is  at  a  maximum  at  about 
nine  years  of  age,  .  .  .  while  at  about  twelve  inter- 
est in  history  begins  to  dominate,  at  first  in  the  form 
of  biography  and  pioneer  history  stories." 

1 "  Children's  Reading,"  liy  E.  A.  Kirkpatrick,  The  Northwestern 
Monthly,  December,  1898,  January  and  March,  1899.  J.  H.  Miller, 
Lincoln,  Neb. 


9::        TllE   PRlNCirLES  OF  TEACHING   READING 

"There  is  nothing  more  certain  than  that  boys  of 
thirteen  or  fourteen  are  especially  interested  in  ad- 
venture, .  .  .  while  quieter  stories  and  sentimental 
stories  are  often  preferred  by  girls  of  this  age." 

Summarizing  the  conclusions  of  all  these  studies, 
we  have  the  following  criteria  to  govern  teachers  and 
principals  in  the  choice  of  books  and  authors  in  the 
making  and  editing  of  school  readers  :  — 

1.  A  child  of  from  six  to  eight  years  of  age  appre- 
ciates no  sentiment,  does  not  care  for  subjective 
analysis  or  description,  has  little  aesthetic  taste, 
wants  specific  names  (not  general),  and  is  satisfied 
with  concrete  facts  which  speak  for  themselves. 

2.  The  elements  of  a  story  which  appeal' to  chil- 
dren of  four,  six,  and  eight  years  of  age  follow  in 
importance  this  order:  action,  names,  speech,  appear- 
ance, place,  time,  possession,  etc. 

3.  There  is  an  important  sex  difiference  in  the 
reading  taste.  Girls  prefer  domestic  stories  written 
by  women,  while  boys,  especially  at  about  thirteen 
or  fourteen,  love  stories  of  adventure  and  heroism 
written  by  men. 

4.  Only  those  reading  lessons  make  a  lasting  im- 
pression upon  the  child  which  are  in  terms  of  his 
own  experience. 


THE  ENDS  OF  READING  93 

5.  Children  detest  preaching  or  moraHzing,  pre- 
ferring to  be  taught  indirectly  by  concrete  stories. 

6.  Children  require  complete  narratives.  Frag- 
mentary poems  and  stories  in  outline  are  treated  as 
uninteresting. 

7.  Children  are  fond  of  stories  that  treat  of  ani- 
mals, particularly  those  that  represent  animals  as 
speaking  and  feeling  like  human  beings.  They  are 
also  deeply  interested  in  stories  about  children. 

8.  Young  children  care  little  for  humor,  but  ap- 
preciate the  pathetic. 

9.  Interest  in  fairy  tales  culminates  at  nine. 

10.  At  twelve  interest  in  history  begins  to  domi- 
nate, biography  and  pioneer  history  being  the  forms 
at  first  preferred. 

11.  Mere  information  has  no  attraction  for  the 
child.  Reading  must  appeal  to  his  feelings  and 
imagination  and  possess  human  interest  in  order  to 
make  a  deep  and  lasting  impression  upon  him. 

(b)  Other  Qualities.  —  Such  are  a  few  of  the  quali- 
ties that  seem  to  be  demanded  in  our  reading  mate- 
rial in  the  light  of  our  meagre  knowledge  of  the  child's 
nature  and  development. 

In  addition  to  these  psychological  tests  of  reading 
matter  there  are  a  few  pedagogical  ones,  based  on 


04       THI-:   PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACHING   READING 

ciHiimon  sense  and  practical  experience  in  the  class 
room ;  and  these,  it  will  be  seen,  in  every  instance 
confirm  and  supplement  the  criteria  already  enu- 
merated. 

Every  teacher  knows  from  experience  that  one 
requisite  of  a  successful  reading  lesson  is  that  the 
subject-matter  shall  come  within  the  comprehension 
of  the  pupil.  It  must  not  be  abstruse  or  abstract, 
nor  must  it  deal  with  matters  entirely  outside  the 
experience  of  childhood.  This  does  not  mean  that 
children  are  wholly  incapable  of  appreciating  the 
merits  of  genuine  literature.  On  the  contrary,  a 
child  of  seven  can  understand  portions  of  the  story 
of  Hiawatha  in  the  language  of  the  poet ;  in  fact,  I 
believe  children  greatly  prefer  the  original  poetic 
form.  There  is  an  indefinable  charm  in  the  poetic 
diction,  the  unique  repetition  of  phrases,  which  at- 
tracts children  of  all  ages.  In  order  to  come  within 
the  comprehension  of  our  pupils,  reading  books 
need  not  necessarily  be  commonplace  and  matter- 
of-fact.  The  subject-matter  should  be  of  such  a 
grade  of  difficulty  that  the  pupil  has  some  work  to 
do,  some  effort  to  make,  in  order  to  appreciate  it. 
Otherwise,  there  is  no  educative  activity  involved 
in  his  reading.     As  Mr.  Chubb  says,  "The  child  will 


THE  ENDS  OF  READING  95 

leap  many  a  forbidding  word-fence,  if  he  is  genuinely- 
interested  in  the  subject-matter."  It  would  appear, 
therefore,  that  the  so-called  lessons  of  information 
on  science,  history,  and  geography,  often  found  in 
grade  readers,  are  out  of  place.  This  sort  of  informa- 
tion should  be  imparted  through  supplementary 
reading  in  connection  with  other  subjects,  and  the 
reading  period  proper  should  be  devoted  to  the  study 
of  real  literature.  Dr.  Hall  sums  up  this  part  of 
our  subject  in  an  admirable  paragraph :  — 

''It  is  assumed,  then,  that  we  must  have  stated 
or  stataric  readers,  uniformly  punctuated,  contain- 
ing nothing  merely  petty  or  individual,  and  its  read- 
ing must  not  be  degraded  as  means  to  other  ends, 
but  must  be  of  central  importance,  and  the  best  test 
of  the  teacher  and  the  school  work.  We  must  have 
regard  chiefly,  at  first,  in  compiling  readers  and  in 
using  them  in  school,  not  to  method,  as  we  have 
been  too  wont  to  do,  but  to  subject-matter,  to  con- 
tent, and  its  wide  bearings.  Nothing,  again,  brings 
out  good  reading  like  the  comprehension  of  it,  in- 
volving direct  innervation  from  the  higher  cerebral 
centres.  Yet  we  must  here  avoid  selections  the  full 
meaning  of  which  can  be  immediately  comprehended 
and  conveyed.     The  mind  must  grow  slowly  up  to 


q6     the  trinciples  of  teaching  reading 

il  by  many  repetitions;  it  must  be  felt  and  its  drift 
vaguely  caught  before  as  a  condition  of  the  correct 
and  healthy  action  of  the  intellect  upon  it."  ^ 

The  studies  quoted  above  and  others  like  them 
were  undertaken  to  ascertain  what  is  normally  in- 
teresting to  children  at  different  ages.  There  are 
two  or  three  possible  attitudes  to  be  taken  with  ref- 
erence to  children.  We  may  assume  that  their 
natural  instincts  and  tendencies  are  upon  the  whole 
good  and  a  safe  guide  for  educational  method  and 
policy.  Or  we  may  assume,  as  the  old  theologic 
ideal  did,  that  the  child  is  all  wrong  and  the  aim  of 
education  is  "to  repair  the  ruins  of  our  first  parents 
by  regaining  to  know  God  aright,  and  out  of  that 
knowledge  to  love,  imitate,  and  be  like  him."  ^  Or 
we  may  borrow  some  philosophical  or  sociological 
ideal  to  which  the  child  is  to  conform.  But  whether 
we  take  the  one  position  or  the  other,  a  knowledge 
of  what  actually  is  the  natural  bent  of  the  infant 
soul  is  necessary. 

In  this  matter  of  reading,  shall  we  trust  altogether 
the  interests  of  the  children,  or  shall  we  disregard 
altogether  their  desires  and  compel  them  to  conform 

1  How  to  Teach  Reading,  G.  Stanley  Hall,  D.  C.  Heath  &  Co.,  Bos- 
ton, 1886,  p.  26. 

^  Milton,  Tractate  on  Education. 


THE  ENDS  OF  READING  97 

to  what  we  think  is  best  for  them,  or  shall  we  take 
some  middle  ground?  I  have  already  indicated  a 
possible  mode  of  procedure  by  demanding  that  the 
adult's  judgment  shall  prevail  as  to  the  literary  qual- 
ity of  books.  After  excluding  all  unworthy  material, 
there  is  still  enough  left  to  satisfy  almost  any  socio- 
logical or  philosophical  ideal ;  and  within  the  bounds 
thus  set  the  child's  liberty  of  choice  should  be  re- 
spected. Otherwise  we  can  have  no  guarantee  that 
the  pupil  will  have  any  genuine  interest  in  his  read- 
ing; and  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  teacher's 
experience,  "a  reading  lesson  cannot  be  successful 
unless  it  is  interesting. 

(c)  Adaptations.  —  Many  productions  possess  the 
qualities  children  demand,  but  are  nevertheless  upon 
the  whole  unsuitable  for  school  use.  These  can 
often  be  made  to  fit  school  conditions  by  judicious 
"  adaptation."  Some  literary  gems  are  so  perfect  that 
it  would  be  a  sacrilege  to  touch  them.  These  are 
not  to  be  discussed  but  committed  to  memory.  No 
one  would  wish  to  tamper  with  Gray's  "Elegy"  or 
Tennyson's  "Charge  of  the  Light  Brigade."  But 
it  might  be  quite  possible  to  adapt  one  of  Andersen's 
fairy  tales  or  a  Greek  myth  in  such  a  way  as  to  render 
it  more  acceptable  to  the  heart  of  an  American  child. 


98        THE   PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACHING   READING 

One  method  of  adapting  such  material  consists 
in  repeating  stories  to  children  and  securing  oral  or 
written  reproductions  from  them.  By  comparing 
these  reproductions  with  the  originals  it  is  easy  to 
ascertain  which  elements  possess  interest  and  which 
do  not.  Parts  of  the  story  that  are  omitted  by  all 
children  evidently  are  not  interesting;  while  those 
portions  which  are  reproduced  by  all  or  most  possess 
the  greatest  interest.  In  rewriting  the  story  the 
interesting  material  only  is  employed,  and  in  this 
way  the  material  is  "really  and  closely  fitted  to  the 
minds  and  hearts  of  the  children."  ^ 

These  remarks,  however,  must  not  be  understood 
to  apply  to  any  stories  that  have  reached  a  classic 
version.  "The  easy-word  transliteralist  has  much 
to  answer  for  in  his  alterations  of  classic  story  into 
one  and  two  syllabled  absurdities  for  the  tender 
digestion  of  the  child."  ^  If  a  given  piece  of  litera- 
ture is  too  difficult  for  a  given  grade,  the  remedy  is 
not  an  easy  paraphrase,  but  the  postponement  of 
the  reading  until  a  later  grade. 

Finally,  let  me  add  that  much  of  the  staple  literary 
diet  of  the  primary  grades  should  be  poetry,  because 

'  Hall,  IJow  to  Teach  Reading,  p-  32  ;  see  Old  Time  Stories,  by  E.  Louise 
Smythe,  Werner  &  Co.,  Chicago,  1896. 

*  Chubb,  The  Teaching  of  English,  The  Macmillan  Co.,  1909,  p.  86. 


THE   ENDS  OF  READING  99 

in  the  literary  evolution  of  mankind  verse  precedes 
prose,  and  the  child's  apprehension  of  the  universe 
is  essentially  poetic.  "When  history  and  other  in- 
formation studies  have  done  their  work  on  the  in- 
formation side,  poetry  may  do  its  on  the  imagina- 
tive and  emotional  side."  ^  ;  ; 

4.  Grammar:  The  Mechanics  of  Reading. — In  the 
lower  grammar  grades  the  phonetic  drills  should  be 
continued,  and  in  the  higher  should  gradually  lead 
to  the  rendering  of  certain  typical  forms  of  literature 
with  artistic  effect.  The  meaning  and  use  and  spell- 
ing of  words  is  of  course  also  continued.  By  this 
time,  however,  the  purely  colloquial  vocabulary  gives 
way  to  the  diction  found  in  works  of  standard  authors, 
and  henceforth  we  add  to  the  objects  of  reading  already 
enumerated  an  appreciative  study  of  such  works 
with  a  view  of  cultivating  a  taste  for  good  literature. 
After  the  third  school  year,  the  pupil  should  have 
sufficient  facility  in  reading  to  use  it  in  acquiring 
knowledge.  That  is,  reading  ceases  to  be  chiefly 
a  tool-making  operation  and  is  gradually  trans- 
formed into  a  tool-using  process.  Almost  from  the 
first  day  of  school,  drills  in  the  recitation  of  good  prose 
and  poetry,  with  clearness,  emphasis,  dignity,  and 

1  Chubb,  op.  cit.,  p.  83. 


loo     THE   PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACHING   READING 

inil)rcssivcncss,  should  form  a  regular  adjunct  of  the 
reading  exercise. 

Another  exercise  that  now  becomes  necessary  is 
the  study  of  the  derivation  of  words  and  the  mean- 
ing and  use  of  affixes.  These  bear  the  same  relation 
to  the  study  of  the  meaning  of  words  that  phonetic 
drills  bear  to  pronunciation. 

Gradually,  as  a  means  of  emancipating  himself 
from  the  supervision  of  the  teacher,  the  pupil  must 
learn  the  use  of  the  dictionary.  When  he  comes 
upon  a  new  word  he  must  learn  to  ascertain  its 
meaning  without  assistance.  The  diacritical  marks 
which  he  learned  in  the  prunary  school  will  enable 
him  to  use  the  dictionary  also  as  a  standard  of  pro- 
nunciation. 

( I )  Supplementary  Reading.  —  Within  recent  years, 
especially  since  the  "enrichment"  of  the  course  of 
study  suggested  by  President  Eliot  and  the  Com- 
mittee of  Ten,  supplementary  reading  has  formed 
an  important  part  of  the  school  programme.  Instead 
of  puttering  for  an  entire  year  over  a  single  primer 
or  first  reader,  the  first-year  classes  in  a  good  school 
will  read  half  a  dozen  or  more  books.  In  every 
subsequent  grade  supplementary  readers  in  litera- 
ture are  provided,  and  in  the  appropriate  grades 


THE  ENDS  OF  READING  loi 

also  readers  in  history,  geography,  nature,  hygiene, 
etc.  The  object  of  supplementary  reading  may  be 
summed  up  under  three  heads :  Information,  In- 
spiration, Taste. 

(a)  Information.  —  The  word  supplementary  im- 
plies that  something  is  incomplete  which  may  be 
made  so  by  this  kind  of  reading.  There  is  first  the 
incompleteness  of  knowledge.  One  has  not  time  in 
the  regular  lessons  of  the  class  room  to  give  the  pupil 
that  full  and  many-sided  information  which  he  needs. 
Even  if  the  teacher  had  the  time,  the  necessity  for 
self-activity  and  self-direction  on  the  part  of  the 
children  would  have  to  be  met.  The  teacher  is  but 
a  temporary  guide  and  helper;  in  a  very  few  years 
his  assistance  will  be  withdrawn,  and  then  the  pupil 
must  depend  for  the  rest  of  his  life  upon  himself. 
Therefore,  as  it  has  been  said  of  old,  the  principal 
duty  of  the  pedagogue  is  to  make  himself  useless. 
This  he  can  do  only  by  training  the  pupil  as  soon  as 
possible  to  take  care  of  himself.  Supplementary 
reading  is  one  way  of  contributing  to  this  important 
result.  Here  the  pupil  may  read  an  entire  chapter 
or  book  by  himself,  being  held  responsible  at  the 
conclusion  for  some  account  of  what  he  has  gathered. 
Or  he  may  be  told  to  get  information  of  a  certain  sort 


I02  Tin:  PRixcirLKs  or  teaching  reading 

and  be  required  to  find  it  and  work  it  up  for  himself. 
Such  reading  therefore  supi)lements  the  knowledge  of 
the  textbook  or  of  oral  teaching  by  adding  new  facts 
and  new  points  of  view  ;  and  it  supplements  the  teach- 
ing method  by  throwing  the  pupil  upon  his  own  resources 
and  thus  contributing  to  his  intellectual  emancipation. 
(b)  Inspiration. — There  are  some  books  that  are 
valuable  not  so  much  for  the  facts  they  contain  as 
for  certain  emotions  and  enthusiasms  they  arouse. 
Such  are  the  books  of  John  Burroughs,  Gilbert 
White,  and  Thompson  Seton  in  nature  study. 
Books  of  this  sort  may  properly  be  included  in  the 
supplementary  list.  In  fact,  the  writer  is  inclined 
to  the  opinion  that  we  have  overestimated  the 
knowledge  value  of  books  and  undervalued  the  in- 
spirational function.  "I  actually  found  out,'"  writes 
Hugh  iMiller,^  "for  myself  that  the  art  of  reading  is 
the  art  of  finding  stories  in  books.  Those  intoler- 
able nuisances,  the  useful  knowledge  books,  had  not 
yet  arisen,  like  tenebrious  stars,  on  the  educational 
horizon,  to  darken  the  world."  In  this  class  fall 
works  of  the  imagination,  —  stories,  fables,  fairy 
tales,  myths,  legends,  etc.,  all  of  which  are  intensely 
interesting  to  children. 

^  My  Schools  and  Schoolmasters. 


THE  ENDS   OF   READING  103 

(c)  Taste.  —  Finally,  supplementary  reading  of  the 
right  kind  cultivates  a  taste  for  good  literature 
by  supplying  standard  books  so  entertainingly 
written  that  the  pupil  will  want  more  of  the  same 
kind.  The  taste  grows  by  what  it  feeds  on.  Our 
friends,  the  Herbartians,  have  a  saying  that  it  is 
better  to  send  the  pupil  out  into  the  world  with  a 
definite  and  well-formed  interest  than  to  fill  him  up 
with  a  required  quantity  of  facts.  So,  if  we  form 
a  taste  for  good  reading,  we  need  have  no  fear  for 
the  future  education  of  the  pupil. 

5.  Grammar:  Reading  as  Literature.  —  (i)  What 
to  Read. — Let  it  be  repeated  here  that  reading  has 
by  this  time  become  a  means  of  gaining  and  giving 
knowledge  and  pleasure  from  books.  The  pupils 
are  from  ten  to  fourteen  years  of  age.  The  mechani- 
cal difficulties  have  been  largely  overcome,  and  a 
certain  fluency  has  been  acquired.  The  intelligence 
and  capacity  of  the  pupil  have  reached  a  stage  of 
development  which  makes  it  possible  to  read  litera- 
ture of  good  quality,  of  considerable  length,  and  of 
a  fair  degree  of  difficulty.  Complete  masterpieces 
are  demanded,  both  by  common  sense  and  the  find- 
ings of  psychological  research.  History  of  pioneers 
and  other  heroic  characters  is  a  dominating  interest 


I04    THE    PRINCIPLES  OF   TEACHING   READING 

at  the  age  of  twelve  and  onward.  "It  is  this  litera- 
ture of  distinctly  epic  type  that  will  interest  him 
more  than  any  other,  and  be  good  for  him.  Adven- 
ture and  romance,  heroism  and  daring,  the  wonders 
and  excitement  of  travel  and  exploration,  of  march 
and  siege,  —  upon  these  we  may  feed  him.  ...  So 
we  shall  broaden  his  world  and  enlarge  his  sympa- 
thies .  .  .  before  he  begins  that  adolescent  work 
of  introspection  and  self-analysis  which  tends  to 
contract  for  a  time  his  interests  and  sympathies."  ^ 

Among  the  specific  works  which  may  be  read  with 
profit  in  the  grammar  grades,  the  following  may 
be  mentioned:  Kingsley's  "Greek  Heroes";  Haw- 
thorne's "Wonder  Book"  ;  Lamb's  "  Adventures  of 
Ulysses"  ;  Ruskin's  "King  of  the  Golden  River"; 
also  the  following  poems:  " Casabianca " ;  "Lucy 
Gray";  "The  Wreck  of  the  Hesperus";  "Miles 
Standish";  "Tales  of  a  Wayside  Inn";  "The  Lays 
of  Ancient  Rome";  "Sohraband  Rustum";  "The 
Merchant  of  Venice";  "Julius   Caesar." 

We  may  also  include  some  humor.  The  young 
child  lacks  this  sense ;  but  in  the  middle  and  higher 
grades  the  pupil  will  appreciate  the  works  of  Mark 
Twain,  Holmes,  Saxe,  Hood,  Stockton,  and  Kipling. 

*  Chubb,  The  Teaching  of  English,  The  MacmlUan  Co.,  1909,  p.  125. 


THE  ENDS  OF  READING  105 

Three  classes  of  works  should,  says  Mr.  Chubb,  be 
excluded  from  the  elementary  school ;  namely : 
those  that  deal  reflectively  with  the  sentiment  of 
adult  love,  e.g.  "Enoch  Arden";  those  that  are 
surrounded  with  an  atmosphere  of  gloom,  e.g.  some 
of  Hawthorne's  stories ;  those  that  lead  to  the  solemn 
and  darker  mysteries  of  life,  e.g.  "The  Christmas 
Carol."  1 

6.  The  High  School. — The  only  object  of  reading 
in  the  high  school  is  the  study  and  appreciation  of 
literature.  This,  however,  implies  several  subor- 
dinate aims,  such  as  the  meaning  of  words  and  sen- 
tences, and  the  principles  of  grammar,  rhetoric,  and 
composition.  The  requirements  of  the  College  En- 
trance Examination  Board  for  the  Middle  States 
and  Maryland  are  a  fair  illustration  of  the  scope 
and  aim  of  reading  in  the  secondary  schools  of  the 
country.  The  following  analysis  of  the  require- 
ments in  English  are  quoted  from  the  Board's  Plan 
of  Organization:  ^  — 

"  {a)  Reading. — A  certain  number  of  books  will 
be  set  for  reading.  The  candidate  will  be  required 
to  present  evidence  of  a  general  knowledge  of  the 

^Op.  cit.,  p.  129. 

^  Plan  of  Organization  of  the  College  Entrance  Examination  Board  for 
the  Middle  States  and  Maryland,  adopted  May  20,  igcx),  N.  Y.,  1900. 


io6    THE   PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACHING   READING 

subject-matter,  and  to  answer  simple  questions  on 
the  lives  of  the  authors.  The  form  of  examination 
will  usually  be  the  writing  of  a  paragraph  or  two  on 
each  of  several  topics,  to  be  chosen  by  the  candidate 
from  a  considerable  number  —  perhaps  ten  or 
fifteen  —  set  before  him  in  the  examination  paper. 
The  treatment  of  these  topics  is  designed  to  test 
the  candidate's  power  of  clear  and  accurate  expres- 
sion, and  will  call  for  only  a  general  knowledge  of 
the  substance  of  the  books.  The  candidate  is  ex- 
pected to  read  intelligently  all  the  books  prescribed. 
He  is  expected  not  to  know  them  minutely,  but  to 
have  fresh  in  mind  their  most  important  parts.  In 
every  case  knowledge  of  the  hook  will  he  regarded  as  less 
important  than  the  ahility  to  write  good  English.  In 
preparation  for  this  part  of  the  requirement,  it  is 
important  that  the  candidate  shall  have  been  in- 
structed in  the  fundamental  principles  of  rhetoric." 

Books,  1901-1902 :  Merchant  of  Venice;  Pope's 
Iliad,  Books  I,  VI,  XXII,  XXIV ;  Sir  Roger  de  Cov- 
erley  Papers;  The  Vicar  of  Wakefield;  The  Ancient 
Mariner;  Ivanhoe;  The  Last  of  the  Mohicans;  The 
Princess;  The  Vision  of  Sir  Launfal;  Silas  Mar- 
ner  =  to. 

"  (6)  Study  and  Practice.  —  This  part  of  the  exami- 


THE  ENDS  OF  READING  107 

nation  presupposes  the  thorough  study  of  each 
of  the  works  named  below.  The  examination  will 
be  upon  subject-matter,  form,  and  structure.  In 
addition,  the  candidate  may  be  required  to  answer 
questions  involving  the  essentials  of  English  grammar, 
and  questions  on  the  leading  facts  in  those  periods 
of  English  literary  history  to  which  the  prescribed 
works  belong." 

Books,  1901-1905 :  Macbeth;  Lycidas,  Comus, 
U Allegro,  II  Penseroso;  Speech  on  Conciliation; 
Macaulay's  Essays  on  Milton  and  Addison  =  4. 

Recommendations :  — 

"2.  That  the  prescribed  books  be  regarded  as  a 
basis  for  such  wider  courses  of  English  study  as  the 
schools  may  arrange  for  themselves." 

"4.  That  a  certain  amount  of  outside  reading, 
chiefly  of  poetry,  fiction,  biography,  and  history,  be 
encouraged  throughout  the  entire  school  course." 

"7.  That  each  of  the  books  prescribed  for  study 
be  taught  with  reference  to  — 

"a.  The  language,  including  the  meaning  of  words 
and  sentences,  the  important  qualities  of  style,  and 
the  important  allusions ; 

"  h.  The  plan  of  work,  i.e.  its  structure  and  method ; 

"c.  The  place  of  the  work  in  literary  history,  the 


loS    THE   PRlXCirLES  01-    TEACHING   READING 

circumstances  of  its  production,  and  the  life  of  its 
author." 

These  provisions  remain  in  force  to-day  substan- 
tially as  they  were  first  adopted  twelve  years  ago. 
The  only  change  is  in  naming  a  larger  list  of  books 
from  which  to  choose.  The  requirements  for  1910- 
191 1  prescribe  forty  books  for  "reading,"  ten  of 
which  must  be  selected,  and  six  books  for  "study 
and  practice,"  four  of  which  must  be  chosen.^ 

'  The  Board's  examinations  are  now  accepted  as  a  satisfactory  basis 
for  admission  by  every  college  and  university  in  the  United  States; 
but  some  colleges  still  continue  to  hold  their  own  examinations.  In 
June,  191 1,  the  Board  examined  4096  candidates,  while  between  five 
and  six  thousand  candidates  took  the  separate  examinations.  —  See 
Educational  Review,  Feburary,  1912,  "The  College  Entrance  Examina- 
tion Board,"  by  Thomas  S.  Fiske,  Columbia  University. 


LOS  /^.i\'^z.LLc 
STATE  NORMAL  SCHOOL 


CHAPTER  V 
METHODS    OF   TEACHING   READING 

I.  The  History  of  Method  in  Reading. — The  his- 
tory of  method  in  reading  naturally  falls  under  two 
heads, — reading  material  and  how  to  teach  reading. 

(i)  Reading  Material. — The  modern  era  in  the 
pedagogy  of  reading  begins  with  the  Reformation. 
The  first  school  readers  in  this  period  were  distinctly 
religious.  One  by  Ickelsamer,  for  instance,  con- 
tained the  Ten  Commandments,  the  Creed,  the 
Lord's  Prayer,  the  Magnificat,  and  the  Benedictus. 
Basedow  is  credited  with  a  reform  in  the  shape  of  a 
primer  in  which  the  children  read  of  things  pleasant 
to  eat  and  to  see,  such  as  almonds,  raisins,  and  apples. 
They  learned  German  and  Latin  by  means  of  play, 
and  were  rewarded  with  sweetmeats  when  they  did 
good  work.  Eberhard  von  Rochow  issued  a  read- 
ing book  in  1776  containing  moral  tales,  illustrat- 
ing the  virtues  of  politeness,  modesty,  and  the  like. 
The  author  advised  that  the  simple  sounds  be  taught 
first  in  connection  with  the  written  and  printed 

109 


no    Tm:   PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACIIINC]    READING 

names  of  familiar  things.  He  laid  emphasis  upon 
oral  work  as  a  preparation.  His  book  reached  a 
circulation  of  one  hundred  thousand.  Another 
primer  by  Christian  Felix  Weisze,  issued  at  Leipzig 
in  1772,  contained  short  stories,  fables,  songs, 
prayers,  and  little  verses.  The  gradual  change 
from  the  purely  religious  book  to  the  secular  ideal 
was  not  effected  without  earnest  and  bitter  contro- 
versy. It  is  said  that  in  one  instance  the  people  rose 
in  insurrection  because  the  Creed  and  the  Lord's 
Prayer  had  been  omitted  from  the  primer. 

Such  is  the  history  of  German  reading  books.  In 
the  United  States  a  similar  evolution  occurred. 
Here,  also,  the  rehgious  ideal  dominated  the  early 
schools.  The  New  Ettglaiid  Primer  was  the  princi- 
pal school  book  for  more  than  a  century  up  to  the 
year  1800.  The  origin  of  this  remarkable  book  is 
traced  back  to  a  primer  issued  by  Henry  VIII  in 
1534.  Henr}''s  primer  contained  "certain  prayers 
and  goodly  meditations,  very  necessary  for  all  people 
that  understand  not  the  Latin  tongue."  In  1679 
Benjamin  Harris  issued  in  London  The  Protestant 
Tutor,  which  was  a  school  reader.  Coming  to  Boston 
a  little  later,  he  reissued  his  primer  in  America  in 
1685.     Some  time  between  1687  and  1690  it  was 


METHODS  OF  TEACHING  READING 


III 


reissued  again  under  the  title  of  the  New  England 
Primer.  It  soon  became  the  most  important  book 
in   the  colonies. 


The  copy  which 
I  have  before  me 
was  printed 
about  the  year 
1785,  a  hundred 
years  after  the 
first  edition.  It 
contains  a  por- 
trait of  George 
Washington,  the 
A  B  C's,  words 
of  one,  two,  and 
three  syllables,  a 
series  of  illus- 
trated   couplets 

(see  Fig.   9)     ex-   -^  P^S^  froQi  the  New  England  Primer,  actual 

size. 

tracts  from  the 

Bible,  a  "Cradle  Hymn"  by  Watts,  prayers,  religious 
exhortations  for  the  young,  the  Catechism,  and  a 
"Dialogue  between  Christ,  Youth,  and  the  Devil." 
This  book  reflected  in  a  marvellous  way  the  spirit  of 
the  age  that  produced  it,  and  "contributed,  perhaps 


In  Adam*s  Fall 
We  finned  all. 

Thy  Life  to  mend. 
This  Book  attend. 

The  Cat  doth  play. 
And  after  flay. 

A  Do^  will  bite 
A  Thief  at  Night. 

An  Edgle*   flight 
Is  out  of  fight. 

The  idle  Fool 
is  whipt  at  SchooL 

Fig.  q. 


112      THE   PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACHING   READING 

more  than  any  other  book  except  the  Bible,  to  the 
moulding  of  those  sturdy  generations  that  gave  to 
America  its  liberty  and  its  institutions."  ^ 

Another  important  American  school  book  was 
Noah  Webster's  Speller,  issued  near  the  end  of  the 
eighteenth  century.  This  speller  is  still  in  use  and 
is  said  to  have  reached  a  circulation  of  a  hundred 
million  copies.  "The  edition  in  use  previous  to  the 
revision  of  1831  comprized  168  pages,  14  of  which 
are  introductory;  66  contain  words  taken  from  the 
dictionary ;  29  pages  contain  the  names  of  persons, 
places,  etc. ;  47  contain  reading  lessons.  .  .  .  The 
edition  published  in  1831  contains  several  poems,  a 
moral  catechist,  including  abstract  treatises  on 
humility,  mercy,  anger,  justice,  gratitude ;  .  .  .  pre- 
cepts concerning  the  social  relations,  in  which  the 
young  man,  young  woman,  husband,  wife,  parent, 
and  child  are  all  briefly  instructed  and  admon- 
ished."2 

Among  other  interesting  devices  formerly  used 
for  teaching  children  to  read  are  the  horn-book, 
battledore,  and  sampler.^    The  horn-book  dates  in 

^  From  the  preface  of  Ginn  &  Co.'s  reprint. 

2  R.  R.  Reeder,  Historical  Development  of  School  Readers,  Mac- 
millan,  1900. 

'  See  Reeder,  op.  cit. 


METHODS  OF   TEACHING  READING  113 

England  from  about  1450.  It  was  a  paddle  5I  inches 
long  and  2^  inches  wide,  with  a  handle.  On  one 
face  of  the  paddle  was  pasted  a  piece  of  paper,  which 
was  protected  by  a  transparent  sheet  of  horn.  There 
was  printed  on  the  paper  first  a  cross,  then  the  alpha- 
bet, large  and  small,  next  a  line  of  vowels  and  com- 
binations of  these  with  consonants.  Below  was  the 
exorcism,  "In  the  name  of  the  Father  and  of  the 
Sonne  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  Amen."  Then  fol- 
lowed the  Lord's  Prayer  and  the  Roman  numerals. 
The  horn-book  was  used  also  in  the  Dame  Schools 
of  New  England.  The  child  trudged  to  school  with 
the  horn-book  slung  from  his  girdle  by  a  string  at- 
tached to  the  handle.     Hence  this  couplet : — 

"  Then  after  that  he  takes  a  pretty  pride 
To  wear  the  horn-book  dangling  by  his  side."  ^ 

The  earliest  horn-books  had  the  alphabet  or  a  part 
of  it  arranged  in  the  form  of  a  cross;  hence  "Criss 
Cross"  and  "Criss  Cross  Row"  came  to  be  a  syno- 
nym for  alphabet. 

In  England  children  were  fond  of  the  game  of 
battledore  and  shuttlecock,  in  which  they  employed 
a  square  paddle  resembling  a  horn-book.  Hence 
by  and  by  the  alphabet  was  painted  or  impressed 

*  Hornbye's  Horn-Book,  London,  1622. 


114    TIIE  PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACHING   READING 

or  cut  on  one  side  of  it,  and  the  battledore  served 
the  double  purpose  of  a  book  and  a  bat.  In  time 
it  became  the  synonym  for  horn-book  and  primer. 
Willis's  Current  Notes  for  October,  1855,  has  this 
paragraph:  ''Horn-books  are  now  so  completely 
superseded  by  the  Battledore  and  the  various  forms 
of  'Reading  Made  Easy'  that  they  are  rarely  met 
with,  and  few  persons  beUeve  that  such  was  formerly 
the  means  adopted  to  teach  the  young  idea  how  to 
shoot." ' 

The  sampler  was  a  y'lcce  of  embroidery  done  as 
a  sample  of  skill  in  needlework.  In  New  England 
it  served  the  purpose  of  a  horn-book  for  many  genera- 
tions of  little  girls.  It  usually  contained  the  alpha- 
bet, the  Lord's  Prayer,  hymns,  original  verses,  etc., 
and  the  name  and  date.  The  writer  is  permitted  to 
copy  the  following  contents  of  a  sampler  which  is 
an  heirloom  in  the  family  of  Hon.  Cyrus  C.  MiUer, 
President  of  Bronx  Borough,  New  York  City :  — 

Alphabet  in  large  script. 

Line  of  embroidery. 

Alphabet  in  large  capitals. 

Line  of  embroidery. 

Numbers  from  i  to  16. 

1  Reeder,  Historical  Development  of  School  Readers,  Macmillan,  1909,  p.  25. 


METHODS  OF  TEACfflNG  READING  115 

Alphabet  in  small  script. 

Line. 

Alphabet  in  small  print. 

Line. 
How  blest  the  Maid  whom  circling  years  improve 
Her  God  the  object  of  her  warmest  Love 
Who  sees  her  Parents  Heart  exulting  high 
And  the  fond  tear  stands  sparkling  in  their  eye. 

Line, 

Picture  of  a  house. 

Line  of  grass. 

Mary  Caroline  Allison  Aged  10  years,  N.  York 
1818. 

Surrounding  all  a  conventionalized  flower  border. 

Size  18  by  16  inches. 

(2)  Method.  —  For  many  centuries  the  alphabetic 
method  held  exclusive  sway.  By  this  plan  pupils 
are  taught  in  various  ways  the  names  of  the  letters, 
then  by  learning  to  spell  and  pronounce  the  words 
they  learn  to  read.  The  objections  to  this  procedure 
are  now  obvious.  The  names  of  the  letters  have  no 
relation  to  their  power  or  significance  as  elements  of 
words.  To  a  child,  d-o-g  spells  deogee,  as  Dr.  Hall 
has  well  said,  and  not  dog;  so  far  as  any  clew  to  pro- 
nunciation is  concerned,  the  letters  might  as  well  be 


no     TllE  PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACHING   READING 

Greek  —  dclta-omicron-gamma.  Yet,  arbitrary  and 
slow  as  this  method  is,  we  must  admit  that  the  chil- 
dren did  somehow  learn  to  read  by  it. 

The  first  writer  to  protest  against  the  folly  and 
waste  of  the  spelling  method  was  Ickelsamer,  who 
published  a  primer  in  1534  in  which  the  phonic 
method  was  advocated.  Instead  of  the  name  of  the 
letter,  the  child  first  learned  its  sound;  and  the 
author  printed  with  each  letter  the  picture  of  an 
animal  whose  voice  or  cry  resembled  the  sound  of 
the  letter.  Thus  m  was  accompanied  by  a  cow,  r  by 
a  dog.  The  oral  word  was  analyzed,  and  the  pupil 
pointed  to  the  pictures  which  represented  the  various 
sounds  of  the  word.  Unfortunately,  Ickelsamer's 
reform  was  allowed  to  lapse  into  "innocuous  desue- 
tude," and  for  several  centuries  nothing  more  is 
heard  of  the  phonic  method.  After  him  came  Buno 
(1650)  and  Basedow  (1774),  each  of  whom  had  some 
special  device  for  teaching  by  the  alphabetic  method. 
Buno  printed  his  letters  in  the  form  of  animals  to 
facilitate  learning.  Basedow  played  games,  and  in 
his  school  bakery  had  sweet  cakes  and  bread  baked 
in  the  form  of  letters,  so  that  the  most  doltish  child 
"graduated  from  an  alphabet  diet  of  four  weeks  as 
an  accomplished  a-b-c-darian."  ^    We  may  add  here 

1  G.  Stanley  Hall,  How  to  Teach  Reading,  D.  C.  Heath  &  Co.,  1897. 


METHODS  OF  TEACHING  READING  117 

that  the  alphabetic  method  was  forbidden  by  law 
in  Prussia  in  1872,  and  several  other  German  states 
have  since  followed. 

Pestalozzi  had  a  phonic  method,  but  it  was  so 
exceedingly  mechanical  and  void  of  ideas  that  he 
himself  lost  faith  in  it.  It  was  a  word-building  method, 
which  begins  with  a  single  letter  and  by  prefixing  or 
adding  other  letters,  forms  a  series  of  words,  e.g., 
a,  an,  and,  land.  Pestalozzi's  building  was  purely 
phonic,  and  did  not  even  require  words  as  the  result 
of  the  successive  buildings,  e.g.,  g,  ge,  geb,  geba, 
gebad,  gebade,  gebadet. 

Comenius  and  Ratichius  advocated  the  so-called 
write-read  method  in  the  seventeenth  century.  It 
combines  the  teaching  of  writing  and  reading  into 
one  process.  Plato  seems  to  assume  its  prevalence 
in  his  day  when  he  says  the  young  "ought  to  be  oc- 
cupied with  their  letters  until  they  are  able  to  read 
and  write."  Quintilian  describes  it  in  detail.  The 
child,  he  says  in  his  Institutes  of  Oratory,  must  not 
learn  the  names  and  order  of  letters  until  he  learns 
their  shapes.  Letters  are  cut  on  a  board,  so  that  the 
pupil  may  trace  their  form  in  wax.  This  require- 
ment of  Quintilian's  is  in  accordance  with  the  latest 
teachings  of  psychology,  which  says  that  care  must 


iiS     THE   PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACHING  READING 

be  taken  to  give  a  child  just  the  right  kind  of  motor 
experience  when  he  learns  to  write.  The  read-write 
method  is  to-day  common  in  Germany,  France,  Eng- 
land, and  the  United  States. 

It  remained  for  Jacotot,  a  Frenchman,  to  give  us 
the  analytic  method  of  teaching  reading.  This  starts 
with  the  principle  that  the  mind  proceeds  from  the 
whole  to  its  parts  and  from  the  known  to  the  un- 
known. In  his  teaching  he  would  begin  with  F^ne- 
lon's  Telemaque,  and  have  the  children  learn  the 
first  sentence,  repeating  it  after  the  teacher,  word 
by  word,  until  the  whole  had  been  learned.    Thus :  — 

Cal>TDS0 

Calypso  ne 

Calypso  ne  pouvait 

Calypso  ne  pouvait  se  consoler. 
The  sentence  was  then  written  by  the  children 
from  copy.  Here  we  have  the  germ  of  the  present- 
day  methods  which  begin  with  a  literary  whole  and 
proceed  from  sentence  to  word,  from  word  to  letter 
and  sound.  The  word-image  and  thought  are  of  the 
first  importance.  The  chief  merit  of  the  system  is  that 
it  begins  with  ideas,  with  worthy  content  capable  of 
arousing  the  interest  of  the  child ;  and  by  this  means 
the  image  of  the  word  is  impressed  upon  the  memory. 


METHODS  OF  TEACHING  READING 


119 


The  origin  of  illustrated  books  is  traced  to  the 
pictured  Bibles  of  the  cloister.  The  best  known 
of  the  early  illustrated  school  books  is  the  Orbis  Pic- 
tus  of  Comenius,  issued  in  1657.  So  great  was  the 
influence  of  this  book  that  Comenius  has  been  called 
"the  father  of  all  picture  books  for  children."  The 
method  of  Comenius  was  adopted  by  the  New  Eng- 
land Primer.  To  what  a  stage  of  perfection  the  illus- 
tration of  primers  has  now  been  brought,  we  all  know. 

Reading  machines  were  devices  to  secure  the  in- 
terest and  self-activity  of  children  in  learning  to 
read.  The  essential  elements  of  the  mechanism  are 
a  set  of  movable  blocks  or  dice  on  which  are  stamped 
the  letters  of  the  alphabet.  These  are  fitted  into 
a  frame  and  manipulated  so  as  to  spell  syllables 
and  words.  The  reading  machines  were  used  by  the 
philanthropinists,  and  are  still  manufactured  and 
sold.  The  nursery  alphabet  blocks  constitute  the 
machine  reduced  to  its  simplest  form. 

The  history  of  method  shows  us  about  every  ele- 
ment of  correct  teaching  as  understood  and  prac- 
tised to-day  by  the  most  enlightened  communities, 
thus  confirming  the  statement  of  Solomon  that 
there  is  nothing  new  under  the  sun.  Most  of  the 
conclusions    of    psychological    investigations    have 


i.-o    THK   PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACHING   READING 

teen  anticipated  by  empirical  discovery.  It  must 
be  admitted,  however,  that  no  one  man  in  previous 
histor>'  advocated  or  combined  all  the  elements  of 
sound  method  ;  but  taking  the  course  of  history  as  a 
whole,  we  are  able  to  cull  out  here  and  there  prin- 
ciples and  devices  which,  when  combined,  match  the 
best  thought  and  practice  of  the  present  generation. 

2.  The  Beginnings  of  Reading. — All  reading  to-day 
is  taught  by  various  mixtures  of  the  word,  sentence, 
and  phonetic  methods.  Somewhere  every  system 
introduces  sight  words,^  which  as  soon  as  known  are 
read  in  sentences.  All  authors  recommend  phonic 
work,  although  a  few  object  to  diacritical  marks. 

(i)  Some  Definitions. — Before  entering  upon  a 
fuller  discussion  of  this  phase  of  reading,  it  may  be 
well  to  present  a  few  definitions.  The  words  phonic 
and  phonetic  are  used  in  teaching  parlance  rather 
loosely  and  interchangeably.  Phonic  has  reference 
to  sound ;  when,  therefore,  we  teach  children  the  ele- 
mentary sounds  of  the  language,  we  are  having  a 
phonic  drill.  The  word,  however,  covers  any  kind 
of  sound  in  nature,  no  matter  how  produced.  Pho- 
netic, on  the  other  hand,  relates  especially  to  articu- 
late sounds,  or  sounds  made  by  the  human  voice.     It 

^See  Principles  i8  and  19,  p.  75. 


METHODS  OF  TEACHING  READING  121 

also  includes  the  representation  of  articulate  sounds 
by  characters,  which  phonics  does  not.  It  would 
seem,  therefore,  that  in  all  cases  phonetic  is  the  better 
word  to  use  in  any  discussion  of  sounds  in  connection 
with  reading. 

Certain  other  terms  have  become  familiar  in  the 
pedagogy  of  phonetics,  of  which  the  following  are 
examples :  — 

A  Phonogram  is  a  written  or  printed  representa- 
tion of  an  articulate  sound.  It  may  consist  of  one 
letter  or  of  more  than  one ;  as,  /,  s,  I,  ing,  ight,  ail. 
When  the  phonogram  has  but  one  letter,  some 
authors  call  it  simple;  when  it  has  more  than  one 
letter,  they  call  it  compound. 

A  Sight  Word  is  a  word  that  has  been  taught  as  a 
whole,  and  is  therefore  recognized  by  sight  alone. 

Sight  Reading  is  reading  sight  words  either  singly 
or  in  sentences. 

A  Phonetic  Word  is  a  word  to  be  read  by  means  of 
its  phonograms. 

Phonetic  Reading  is  the  reading  of  phonetic  words 
either  singly  or  in  sentences. 

A  Blend  is  the  combination  of  sounds,  simple  or 
compound,  to  form  words. 

(2)  Principles    governing    the    Selection    of  Sight 


122    TliE   PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACHING   READING 

Wards.  —  The  words  to  be  taught  in  the  beginning 
of  reading  must  be  selected  in  accordance  with  some 
definite  aim  and  not  in  a  haphazard  way.  I  think 
the  following  principles  should  be  observed  :  — 

(a)  First,  there  must  be  some  words  needful  for 
sentence  building,  like  a,  an,  the,  is,  etc. 

(b)  The  words  should  represent  ideas  that  are 
familiar  and  interesting  to  children,  and  should 
therefore  be  taken  chiefly  from  their  oral  vocabulary. 

(c)  The  first  words  should  have  a  concrete  basis 
in  the  form  of  things  or  actions ;  that  is,  the  majority 
should  be  nouns  or  verbs.  These  two  parts  of  speech 
constitute  80  per  cent  of  a  child's  speaking  vocabu- 
lary.    (See  Principle  3.) 

(d)  If  the  method  be  analytic,  the  words  are  neces- 
sarily chosen  from  the  first  sentences  of  the  reading 
matter  of  the  grade. 

(3)  Prmciples  governing  the  Selection  of  Sounds 
to  be  Taught.  —  What  sounds  shall  be  taught  first  ? 
Here  again  it  is  better  to  name  the  principles  of  selec- 
tion and  thus  allow  individual  variations.  The  late 
Mr.  Ward  gave  three  principles  which  have  been 
incorporated  into  the  New  York  course  of  study,  as 
follows :  — 

(a)  The  sounds  should  be  easily  made. 


METHODS  OF  TEACHING   READING  123 

Qf)  They  should  be  easily  prolonged  without  al- 
teration in  character. 

{c)  They  should  be  common  to  many  words  in  the 
vocabulary  of  a  child. 

On  the  basis  thus  outlined  Mr.  Ward  selects  the 
following,  and  the  New  York  course  of  study  suggests 
most  of  them :  /,  /,  m,  n,  r,  s,  a,  e,  0,  ing,  ings,  ight, 
ights. 

In  the  case  of  an  analytic  system,  the  above  prin- 
ciples will  hardly  apply,  for  the  teacher  will  be  obHged 
to  select  all  phonetic  elements  from  the  reading  text. 
One  very  successful  primer  ^  begins  with  these 
phonograms :  ake  (from  make),  ill  (from  will),  eat 
(from  eat),  all  (from  tall),  because  the  words  in 
which  these  elements  occur  are  very  prominent  and 
frequently  repeated  in  the  first  stories  read.  New 
words  are  formed  by  combining  with  the  above 
phonograms  the  initial  consonants  m,  b,  c,  t,  r,  I,  w,  s, 
etc. 

(4)  Teaching  Sight  Words.  —  The  method  to  be 
employed  depends  somewhat  upon  the  theory  of  the 
reading  system  used  by  the  teacher.  With  a  syn- 
thetic method  words  are  taught  in  isolation,  in  which 
case  they  are  associated  with  the  object  or  action  for 

^  The  Progressive  Road  to  Reading,  Silver,  Burdett  &  Co.,  N.  Y.,  1909. 


i:4      niE   TRIXCIPLES  OF  TEACHING   READING 

which  they  stand.  Many  schools  are  provided  with 
dolls,  toy  animals,  friuts,  etc.,  which  form  the  con- 
crete basis  of  reading  work.  The  steps  of  the  process 
in  this  case  might  be  as  follows :  — 

(a)  Present  the  object  or  picture  of  the  object  to 
the  class  and  ask  for  the  name  of  the  same.  Write 
or  print  the  name  upon  the  blackboard,  telling  the 
children  what  the  word  is. 

{b)  If  other  words  are  already  known,  have  a 
number  of  such  on  the  board  wi<^  the  new  word 
sandwiched  in  here  and  there.  Let  children  find 
the  new  wherever  it  occurs. 

(c)  After  this,  the  word  taught  is  printed  or 
written  upon  a  card  in  letters  large  enough  to  be 
read  from  the  back  of  the  room.  All  such  words  are 
reviewed  every  day  by  a  rapid  manipulation  of  these 
"perception  cards." 

If  the  reading  method  be  analytic,  the  plan  might 
be  as  follows :  — 

(a)  The  word  to  be  taught  is  taken  from  a  sen- 
tence which  the  children  have  already  Aemorized 
and  recited. 

(b)  This  sentence  is  written  on  the  board,  and  the 
children  are  told  what  it  says,  e.g.,  This  is  the  house 
that  Jack  built. 


METHODS  OF  TEACHING  READING  125 

(c)  Some  child  may  find  the  word  Jack;  another 
built;  another  house.  Underline  these  words,  and 
let  children  point  to  them  repeatedly.  Next  write 
the  same  words  under  the  underlined  words,  and  let 
children  name  them.  Then  write  the  words  on  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  board,  and  have  them  identified. 

(d)  Finally  rub  out  the  original  sentence,  and 
write  the  words  on  the  board  for  independent 
recognition. 

(e)  After  this  place  them  on  the  perception  cards 
for  daily  drill. 

(5)  Teaching  Sounds  and  Phonograms.  —  The 
method  may  be  analytic  or  synthetic.  In  the  latter 
case  the  sounds  would  be  taught  in  isolation  and  then 
combined  into  significant  words.  The  analytic  plan 
is  the  better.  It  may  proceed  in  the  following 
order : — 

(a)  The  first  step  is  to  discover  the  sound.  Sup- 
pose it  is  represented  by  the  phonogram  ight.  The 
teacher  writes  upon  the  board  the  word  light.  She 
asks  children  to  pronounce  it ;  then  to  pronounce  it 
very  slowly. 

(b)  In  this  way  the  two  sounds  of  the  word  will 
gradually  dawn  upon  the  consciousness  of  the  chil- 
dren.   Then  she  underlines  the  part  which  says  ight. 


126     THE    TRINCIPLES  OF   TEACHING   READING 

(c)  The  phonogram  is  then  placed  upon  a  percep- 
tion card  for  daily  drill.  The  sounds  of  all  phono- 
grams, whether  they  be  single  vowels  and  consonants, 
or  compound  elements,  are  taught  in  the  same  way. 
The  three  essential  steps  are :  discover,  isolate,  drill. 

(6)  TecLching  the  Blend.  —  After  the  sound  and 
phonogram  have  been  taught  in  the  manner  de- 
tailed above,  we  may  extend  the  exercise  in  the  fol- 
lowing manner :  — 

(a)  Suppose  light  has  just  been  analyzed  into  /  and 
ight.  We  may  rub  out  the  word  and  write  the  two 
phonograms  with  a  short  space  between  them.  The 
pupil  now  slowly  gives  the  sounds  of  /  and  ight,  thus 
producing  the  original  word. 

(6)  After  this  we  build  new  words  with  our  phono- 
gram ight  by  changing  the  initial  consonant,  the 
children  being  required  in  each  case  to  make  the 
sound  fusion  mentally  and  then  to  pronounce  the 
entire  word  at  once.  Some  experienced  teachers 
have  found  it  expedient  never  to  permit  a  child  to 
voice  the  separate  phonograms,  but  in  word-building 
drills,  at  least,  to  require  a  full  and  perfect  blend. -^ 

(7)  Correcting  Errors.  —  Phonetic  work  in  all  grades 
of  an  elementary  school  should  include  the  correction 

*  See  Manual  of  The  Progressive  Road  to  Reading. 


METHODS  OF  TEACHING  READING  127 

of  characteristic  errors  of  pronunciation.  Every  com- 
munity has  its  own  pecuHar  faults.  Each  nationahty 
has  its  special  difficulty.  The  German  has  hard 
work  with  the  soft  th  as  in  this  and  with.  The 
Italian  and  the  Russian  find  many  sounds  in  English 
which  are  troublesome  to  the  tongue.  Each  school 
and  class  will  find  out  the  dominant  errors  of  its 
pupils  and  correct  these  by  suitable  drills.  In  ordi- 
nary cases  it  may  be  sufficient  for  the  teacher  to  give 
the  correct  sound  and  ask  the  pupil  to  imitate  her 
pronunciation.  But  in  the  case  of  foreign-born 
children  or  children  born  of  foreign  parents  it  is 
frequently  necessary  to  take  these  several  steps :  — 

{a)  Analyze  the  word  into  its  phonetic  elements. 

{h)  Pronounce  these-  separately  for  the  pupil,  and 
have  him  do  so. 

(c)  Blend  the  elements  into  the  original  word. 

{d)  Drill  on  other  words  containing  the  difficult 
sound. 

(e)  Show  the  pupil  the  position  of  the  organs  of 
speech  in  pronouncing  the  word  or  phonogram. 

(8)  A  Device  for  Beginners  in  Reading.  —  One  of 
the  difficulties  in  a  beginners'  reading  class  is  that  the 
little  folks  lose  their  places,  and  an  enormous  amount 
of  time  is  wasted  by  the  teacher  in  showing  the  pupils 


128    THE   PRINCIPLES   OF  TEACHING  READING 

wIkmc  to  road.  Ordinarily  this  loss  is  at  the  expense 
of  the  children  ;  but  when  a  supervising  official  under- 
takes to  test  such  a  class  he  also  shares  the  loss.  I 
have  tested  hundreds  of  classes  that  required  twenty 
minutes  to  read  around  the  class,  a  sentence  to  a 
child,  when  five  minutes  should  have  sufficed.  Now 
time  consumed  in  showing  children  their  places  is 
not  available  for  teaching.  It  is  therefore  worth 
while  to  eliminate  this  w^aste.  It  may  be  done 
efTectively  by  the  following  simple  device:  — 

The  teacher  provides  each  child  with  an  oak-tag 
strip  as  long  as  the  width  of  the  page  and  about  an 
inch  and  a  half  wide.  The  children  lay  this  strip 
upon  the  book  in  such  a  way  that  the  line  to  be  read 
is  visible  above  the  upper  edge  of  the  paper.  A  child 
is  called  upon  to  read  line  one.  Then  the  teacher 
quietly  remarks  :  "Move  the  paper,"  and  each  pupil 
slips  the  strip  down  far  enough  to  expose  line  two. 
When  that  has  been  read,  the  operation  is  repeated. 
Thus  there  is  not  the  slightest  difficulty  in  keeping 
the  place,  and  no  time  is  lost. 

3.  Methods  of  imparting  the  Content  of  a  Reading 
Lesson.  —  Thus  far  we  have  been  occupied  exclu- 
sively by  the  mechanical  side  of  reading,  the  mere 
conquest  of  symbols.     This  is  of  course  the  indis- 


METHODS  OF  TEACHING  READING  129 

pensable  prerequisite  to  the  next  and  more  impor- 
tant step  of  mastering  the  thought  and  emotional 
content  of  what  is  read. 

/  (i)  Impression  and  Expression.  —  All  successful 
^  teachers  of  reading  in  the  early  primary  grades  divide 
the  process,  by  one  means  or  another,  into  two  parts, 
impression  and  expression,  getting  the  thought  and 
giving  the  thought.  It  is  the  recognition  of  the 
principle  that  the  child  can  do  well  only  one  thing  at 
a  time.  Sometimes  the  teacher  calls  the  impression 
"reading"  and  the  expression  "telling."  She  directs 
all  the  children  to  read  the  "story"  (sentence  or 
paragraph)  and  gives  Mary  permission  to  tell  what 
she  has  read.  In  this  way  she  employs  social  co- 
operation to  maintain  interest  and  at  the  same  time 
secures  the  individual  effort  of  every  pupil.  The 
neglect  of  the  above  device,  the  calling  upon  pupils 
in  regular  order  to  stumble  over  the  page  as  best 
they  may,  while  the  rest  of  the  class  go  wool- 
gathering or  fall  into  disorder,  is  one  of  the  common- 
est faults  of  poor  teachers  and  one  of  the  most  pro- 
lific sources  of  waste  in  school.  A  cardinal  principle, 
then,  of  primary  reading,  at  least  in  the  first  year,  is 
that  a  pupil  must  never  be  permitted  to  attempt  oral 
reading  until  he  has  secured  the  thought  by  silent 


130     TirE   PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACHING   READING 

preparation.  Tn  the  lowest  grades  it  is  well  to  re- 
quire children  to  avert  their  eyes  from  the  page  while 
they  tell  what  they  have  read,  in  order  to  induce  the 
habit  of  reading  thoughts  rather  than  words.  (SeCj 
Principle  20.) 

In  the  higher  grades  the  preparation  of  the  lesson 
is  in  effect  the  impressive  side  of  reading.  It  is  the 
master}'  of  the  content.  This  must  be  done  before 
the  class  undertakes  oral  reading  at  all.  It  is  very 
foolish  to  try  to  do  both  of  these  things  at  once ;  for 
if  the  pupil  is  allowed  to  make  an  attempt  at  oral 
reading  before  he  is  properly  prepared  to  do  so,  the 
result  wiU  be  unsatisfactory  in  every  respect.  A 
child  cannot  express  what  he  does  not  feel  or  under- 
stand ;  and  the  hesitating,  stumbling  efforts  at  read- 
ing which  one  often  hears  in  class  rooms  are  due 
entirely  to  insufficient  preparation. 

(2)  Lyrics  {Primary).  —  The  first  principle  we 
shall  appeal  to  in  presenting  a  literary  masterpiece 
is  thaf'of  congruity  (Principle  8),  which  admonishes 
us  that  our  mood  must  harmonize  with  the  general 
spirit  of  the  piece.  In  other  words,  the  first  step  is 
to  create  a  suitable  atmosphere.  Many  of  the  great 
classics  appeal  primarily  to  the  emotions;  and  Dr. 
Hall  has  well  said  that  the  "emotions  are  far  more 


METHODS  OF  TEACHING   READING 


131 


independent  of  age  than  the  intelligence."  For  this 
reason  certain  brief  strains  of  lyric  poetry  like 
Wordsworth's  "We  are  Seven"  and  Emerson's  "The 
Mountain  and  the  Squirrel"  exercise  their  spell  upon 
a  child  of  seven  as  effectually  as  on  a  man  of  seventy. 
The  secret  of  successful  treatment  of  any  such  work 
of  art  is  to  present  it  so  that  it  will  make  the  right 
kind  of  emotional  appeal.  We  may  illustrate  the 
presentation  of  a  lyric  in  the  second  year  of  school 
by  reference  to  Shakespeare's  Where  the  Bee  Sucks:  — 

"  Where  the  bee  sucks,  there  suck  I; 

In  a  cowslip's  bell  I  lie; 

There  I  couch  when  owls  do  cry. 

On  the  bat's  back  I  do  fly 

After  summer  merrily. 

Merrily,  merrily,  shall  I  live  now 

Under  the  blossom  that  hangs  on  the  bough." 

A  preliminary  explanation  of  the  teacher  brings 
home  to  the  class  the  fact  that  this  is  the  song  of  a 
fairy  who  inhabits  with  Oberon  and  Titania  the 
world  of  grass  and  flowers.  The  atmosphere  is 
created  by  the  teacher's  reading  of  the  poem,  in  con- 
nection with  her  explanation.  Possibly  one  or  two 
words  like  couch  and  bough  need  clearing  up,  and  this 
is  all  the  preparation  required. 

(3)  Narrative  Poem  (Fourth  Year).  —  A  little  more 


132    TllE   PRINCIPLES   OF   TEACIILNG    READING 

elaborate   is    the   treatment   required   of   a   narra- 
tive poem  like  Wordsworth's  Lucy  Gray:  — 

1.  Of  I  I  had  heard  of  Lucy  Gray  ; 

And,  when  I  crossed  the  wild, 
I  chanced  to  see  at  break  of  day 
The  soUtary  child. 

2.  No  mate,  no  comrade  Lucy  knew ; 

She  dwelt  on  a  wide  moor, 
—  The  sweetest  thing  that  ever  grew 
Beside  a  human  door  ! 

3.  You  yet  may  spy  the  fawn  at  play, 

The  hare  upon  the  green ; 
But  the  sweet  face  of  Lucy  Gray 
Will  never  more  be  seen. 

4.  "To-night  will  be  a  stormy  night  — 

You  to  the  town  must  go ; 
And  take  a  lantern,  child,  to  light 
Your  mother  through  the  snow." 

5.  "That,  father  !  will  I  gladly  do : 

'Tis  scarcely  afternoon  — 
The  minster  clock  has  just  struck  two, 
And  yonder  is  the  moon  !" 

6.  At  this  the  father  raised  his  hook, 

And  snapped  a  faggot  band ; 
He  pUed  his  work ;  —  and  Lucy  took 
The  lantern  in  her  hand. 


METHODS  OF  TEACHING   READING  133 

7.  No  blither  is  the  mountain  roe : 

With  many  a  wanton  stroke 
Her  feet  dispersed  the  powdery  snow, 
That  rises  up  like  smoke. 

8.  The  storm  came  on  before  its  time : 

She  wandered  up  and  down ; 

And  many  a  hill  did  Lucy  climb : 

But  never  reached  the  town. 

9.  The  wretched  parents  all  that  night 

Went  shouting  far  and  wide ; 
But  there  was  neither  sound  nor  sight 
To  serve  them  for  a  guide. 

10.  At  daybreak  on  a  hill  they  stood 

That  overlooked  the  moor ; 
And  thence  they  saw  the  bridge  of  wood, 
A  furlong  from  their  door. 

11.  They  wept  —  and  turning  homeward,  cried, 

"In  heaven  we  all  shall  meet;" 
—  When  in  the  snow  the  mother  spied 
The  print  of  Lucy's  feet. 

12.  Then  downwards  from  the  steep  hill's  edge 

They  tracked  the  footmarks  small ; 
And  through  the  broken  hawthorn  hedge. 
And  by  the  long  stone  wall. 

13.  And  then  an  open  field  they  crossed: 

The  marks  were  still  the  same ; 
They  tracked  them  on,  nor  ever  lost ; 
And  to  the  bridge  they  came. 


134    THE   PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACHING   READING 

14.  They  followed  from  the  snowy  bank 

These  footmarks,  one  by  one, 
Into  the.  middle  of  the  plank : 
And  further  there  were  none  ! 

15.  Yet  some  maintain  that  to  tliis  day 

She  is  a  living  child ; 
That  you  may  see  sweet  Lucy  Gray 
Upon  the  lonesome  wild. 

16.  O'er  rough  and  smooth  she  trips  along, 

And  never  looks  behind ; 
And  sings  a  solitary  song 
That  whistles  in  the  wind. 

I  venture  to  present  an  abstract  of  the  treatment 
of  this  poem  suggested  by  Mr.  Percival  Chubb,  one 
of  the  best  authorities  on  the  teaching  of  Hterature  :^ — 

(a)  The  teacher  reads  the  poem  to  secure  total 
dramatic  impression,  making  plain  by  her  rendition 
that  the  little  drama  has  three  acts,  a  prologue,  and 
an  epilogue.^ 

(b)  She  explains  just  enough  to  remove  difhcul- 
ties  and  to  create  the  right  mood  or  atmosphere. 

(c)  Then  the  children  read  stanzas  in  their  natural 
grouping,  beginning  with  the  prologue  as  the  first 
portion. 

'  The  Teaching  of  English,  p.  97. 

^Prologue,  stanzas  1-3;  Act  I,  stanzas  4-7;  Act  II,  stanza  8;  Act 
III,  stanzas  9-14;  Epilogue,  stanzas  15-16. 


METHODS  OF  TEACHING  READING  135 

{d)  The  reading  of  each  group  is  followed  by  ques- 
tions which  may  be  necessary  to  clear  up  words  and 
constructions  that  cause  difficulty  —  no  others. 

{e)  Lucy's  character  is  talked  about.  What  kind 
of  girl  was  she  ?  The  answer  is  gathered  from  the 
verses. 

(/)  Lastly,  the  poem  is  memorized,  and  thus  a 
good,  emotional,  yet  simple  interpretation  is  se- 
cured. 

(4)  The  Total  Impression.  —  With  respect  to  a 
literary  work,  the  essential  thing  is  to  grasp  the  whole 
with  its  interrelated  parts.  The  little  drama  of 
Lucy  Gray  illustrates  in  a  nutshell  what  is  meant  by 
this  statement.  The  same  treatment  is  to  be  applied 
to  any  work  whatsoever,  whether  it  be  "Juhus 
Caesar,"  "Robinson  Crusoe,"  "The  Wreck  of  the 
Hesperus,"  or  Burke's  "Speech  on  Conciliation." 
In  the  case  of  lyrics,  which  are  often  very  brief,  the 
unity  may  be  so  obvious  that  no  time  need  be  spent 
on  it ;  but  in  the  case  of  ballads,  or  narrative  poems, 
and  prose  works  the  careful  study  of  the  parts  and 
their  relation  to  the  whole  is  highly  important ;  for 
only  by  such  study  may  the  pupil  gain  a  comprehen- 
sion of  the  whole.  In  the  upper  elementary  and  high 
school  grades,  the  first  reading  for  total  impression 


136      TirE   PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACHING   READING 

is  usually  done  by  the  pupils  themselves,  either  in 
class  or  at  home ;  but  even  here  there  may  be  oppor- 
tunities for  the  teacher  to  clear  up  difficulties,  to 
create  an  atmosphere,  and  to  deepen  the  impression 
by  adequate  vocal  interpretation.  The  first  reading, 
then,  is  always  somewhat  superficial,  inasmuch  as 
the  object  is  a  large  view,  a  general  effect,  a  com- 
prehensive glance. 

(5)  Word  Study.  —  An  important  step  in  the  mas- 
tering of  the  content  of  the  printed  page  is  the  study 
of  words.  Poetry  especially  is  prolific  of  unfamiliar 
terms.  The  second  reading  will  be  concerned  in 
unlocking  these  secret  meanings.  In  the  primary 
grades  the  teacher  will  develop  the  idea  by  means 
of  context,  by  comparison  with  known  things,  by 
story,  and  by  picture.  In  the  higher  grades  the 
pupil  will  use  the  dictionary;  but  even  here  the 
teacher's  assistance  is  frequently  required,  as  defini- 
tions seldom  give  any  new  knowledge.  The  high 
school  and  college  classics  are  usually  provided  with 
footnotes  which  remove  difficulties.  Children  should 
be  carefully  drilled  in  the  use  of  diacritical  marks, 
for  without  this  knowledge  the  dictionary  is  of  little 
or  no  use  as  a  standard  of  pronunciation.  They 
should  have  their  attention  called  to  the  fact  that 


METHODS  OF  TEACHING  READING  137 

the  same  word  may  be  used  in  several  senses ;  and 
when  they  are  looking  up  the  meaning  of  a  strange 
word,  they  should  read  all  the  definitions  given,  and 
then  use  their  judgment  as  to  which  meaning  applies 
to  the  word  in  the  given  passage.  Pupils  must  also 
be  cautioned  against  misreading  definitions.  I  re- 
call a  girl  of  foreign  birth  who  looked  up  the  word 
educated,  and  found  that  it  meant  "  to  bring  up." 
Then  she  constructed  this  sentence  to  illustrate  the 
use  of  the  word :  "The  boy  educated  the  chairs  up- 
stairs." In  the  smaller  dictionaries  the  definitions 
are  necessarily  much  abbreviated,  and  consequently 
often  as  obscure  as  the  word  itself.  This  is  the  case 
when  the  word  is  defined  by  a  synonym.  True 
logical  definition  consists  in  naming  the  "genus"  and 
"difference";  as,  "A  quadruped  is  an  animal  that 
walks  on  four  feet."  This  definition  affirms  that 
quadruped  is  a  member  of  a  class  called  animals; 
"that  walks  on  four  feet"  is  the  difference  between 
quadrupeds  and  other  members  of  the  animal  class. 
The  dictionary  defines  many  words  by  giving  another 
word  having  about  the  same  meaning.  Derivatives 
are  defined  usually  by  giving  the  meaning  of  the 
affixes;  as,  "misdirection,  the  act  of  directing 
wrongly."    In  such  cases  the  pupil  obtains  no  real 


13S       rilK    PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACHING  READING 

information  unless  he  refers  to  the  definition  of  the 
primitive  word.  All  these  points  must  be  impressed 
upon  children  before  one  can  expect  them  to  make 
an  intelligent  use  of  the  dictionary.  We  must,  how- 
ever, not  overwork  the  dictionary.  It  is  not  neces- 
sary for  a  child  to  know  every  word  in  order  to  appre- 
ciate a  literary  work ;  and  appreciation  is  our  goal. 

(6)  Gramtnar,  Figures,  Allusions.  —  In  the  upper 
grades,  where  the  more  difficult  forms  of  literature 
are  read,  an  important  part  of  the  interpretive  pro- 
cess consists  of  a  study  of  allusions,  figures  of  speech, 
and  grammatical  forms. 

The  following  stanza  may  serve  to  illustrate  the 

force  of  this  statement :  — 

"  This  is  the  ship  of  pearl,  which,  poets  feign, 
Sails  the  unshadowed  main,  — 
The  venturous  bark  that  flings 
On  the  sweet  summer  wind  its  purpled  wings 
,  In  gulfs  enchanted,  where  the  siren  sings. 
And  coral  reefs  lie  bare, 
Where  the  cold  sea-maids  rise  to  sun  their  streaming  hair." 

Some  account  of  the  chambered  nautilus  and  also 
of  the  "paper-nautilus"  is  necessary  to  under- 
stand such  expressions  as  "ship  of  pearl"  and 
the  ethical  and  poetical  force  of  the  last  stanza  of 
the  poem.     Something,  also,  must  be  known  about 


METHODS  OF  TEACHING   READING  139 

the  mythical  sirens  of  the  Greeks  and  the  mermaids 
of  Northern  lands.  Without  such  knowledge  the 
words  of  the  poem  fail  to  call  up  successively  the 
pictures  which  are  the  very  substance  and  life  of  the 
poem.  But  an  explanation  of  these  obscure  allu- 
sions must  not  transform  the  reading  lesson  into  a 
lecture  on  biology  and  mythology.  Just  enough  of 
time  and  attention  must  be  devoted  to  such  details 
to  render  the  meaning  clear  and  to  make  the  words 
adequate  media  for  the  revelation  of  the  poet's  vision. 
In  other  words,  the  full,  free  current  of  the  thought 
and  feeling  must  not  be  interfered  with  by  excessive 
attention  to  details.  The  appreciation  of  the  poem 
is  the  only  object  of  the  lesson,  and  all  information 
that  does  not  contribute  directly  and  indispensably 
to  this  result  is  an  impertinence. 

In  teaching  figures  of  speech,  care  should  be  taken 
not  to  make  the  subject  a  matter  of  formal  defini- 
tion, but  of  poetic  appreciation.  The  names  of  fig- 
ures are  not  so  important  as  a  lively  sense  of  their 
peculiar  appropriateness  and  beauty.  To  illustrate, 
let  us  take  the  following :  — 

''  To-morrow,  and  to-morrow,  and  to-morrow, 
Creeps  in  this  petty  pace  from  day  to  day 
To  the  last  syllable  of  recorded  time, 
And  all  our  yesterdays  have  lighted  fools 


I40     Tin;    TRINCIPLES  OF   TEACHING   READING 

The  way  to  dusty  death.     Out,  out,  brief  candle! 
Life's  but  a  walking  shadow,  a  poor  player 
That  struts  and  frets  his  hour  upon  the  stage 
And  then  is  heard  no  more ;  it  is  a  tale 
Told  by  an  idiot,  full  of  sound  and  fury, 
Signifying  nothing." 

A  pupil  may  be  able  to  define  every  figure  treated 
by  the  rhetoricians,  and  still  be  unable  to  use  or 
appreciate  figurative  language.  A  study  of  the  above 
passage  should  give  the  child  a  lively  sense  of  the 
beauty  and  appropriateness  of  the  images  conjured 
up  by  the  poet's  imagination.  Life  is  a  candle,  a 
walking  shadow,  a  poor  player,  an  idiot's  tale.  All 
these  comparisons  are  packed  with  consummate 
skill  into  a  few  short  lines.  That  the  reader  should 
feel  the  beauty  and  power  of  this  imagery  is  far  more 
important  than  his  ability  merely  to  name  and 
classify  the  figures. 

(7)  A  Definite  Aim.  —  "  Indefiniteness  of  aim," 
says  Mr.  Chubb,  "is  one  of  the  worst  pitfalls  in  Eng- 
hsh  work,  the  parent  of  confusion  and  superficiality."  ^ 
It  is  to  be  assmned  that  an  author  capable  of  writing 
a  great  literary  work  must  have  had  a  definite  pur- 
pose in  view.  The  teacher,  therefore,  in  presenting 
a  masterpiece   to   a   class,   must   first  ask   herself, 

^  The  Teaching  of  English,  p.  1 54. 


METHODS  OF  TEACHING  READING  141 

"What  sort  of  impression  did  the  author  evidently 
mean  to  make?"  Having  ascertained  that,  the 
appropriate  handhng  will  follow.  In  the  case  of 
Milton's  Paradise  Lost,  "the  teacher's  business  is 
to  treat  the  work  so  as  to  enable  the  student  to 
feel  and  appreciate  the  elevation,  the  sublimity,  the 
high  seriousness  of  the  poem,  the  magnificent  pomp, 
the  classic,  'grand  style'  of  verse."  ^  A  poem  like 
Browning's  Incident  of  the  French  Camp  may  be 
useful  chiefly  for  dramatic  imagination  and  pre- 
sentation, and  a  good  oral  rendering  by  the  teacher 
will  remove  all  difficulties.  To  sum  up:  "We  must  be 
careful  .  .  .  not  to  do  violence  to  a  work  by  asking 
it  to  yield  a  different  sort  of  pleasure,  or  illustrate  a 
different  kind  of  excellence  from  that  dominant  one 
which  it  was  designed  by  its  author  to  yield."  ^ 
Uniform  treatment  is  therefore  out  of  the  question. 
Appropriate  emphasis  is  the  thing  we  want.  To 
get  this,  the  teacher  must  know  what  she  wants  to 
accomplish  before  she  meets  the  class. 

4.  Reading  as  Expression.  —  We  may  recall  under 
this  head  how  important  a  part  of  language  in  the 
"chattering  stage"  are  gesture,  tone,  inflection.  A 
child  by  a  single  word  accompanied  by  the  auxiliaries 

1  Chubb,  op.  ciL,  p.  153.  ^  Chubb,  op.  cit.,  p.  157. 


M- 


Tiii;  ruiNcirLi-s  of  tkaciiino  reading 


mentioned  manages  to  express  himself  with  satis- 
factory completeness  (Principle  2).  Likewise  let  us 
revert  to  Principle  11,  which  asserts  that  silent  read- 
ing alone  is  not  sufTicient.  The  muscular  image  of 
expression  is  an  important  part  of  meaning,  and  is 
an  essential  element  of  learning.  Principle  12  ex- 
horts us  to  employ  the  motor  activities  of  children, 
since  the  development  of  brain  fibres  for  motor,  sight, 
and  hearing  areas  reaches  the  maximum  by  the  end 
of  the  second  year.  We  learn  further  (Principle  13) 
that  a  word  is  the  result  of  a  voluntary  activity  of 
the  mind,  and  that  nature  has  provided  a  special 
area  (Broca's  Convolution)  for  the  expression  of 
words.  In  short,  words  are  essentially  motor,  both 
as  to  meaning  and  as  to  memory.  In  all  our  thinking 
the  motor  image  is  present.  Getting  the  thought  is 
an  important  part  of  reading,  but  it  is  by  no  means 
the  whole  of  reading ;  it  is  only  the  analytic  half  of 
it.  Phonetic  drills,  careful  training  in  enunciation, 
pronunciation,  pitch,  rate,  quality,  and  those  other 
details  which  constitute  the  mechanics  of  reading, 
are  little  less  important  than  the  mental  process  of 
thought-getting  itself.  In  fact,  the  images  of  muscu- 
lar movement  involved  in  oral  expression  are  indis- 
pensable to  the  real  appreciation  of  dramatic  passages 


METHODS  OF  TEACHING  READING  143 

and  other  literature  that  makes  strong  appeal  to  the 
emotions.     Take  the  following  stanza :  — 

"Oh,  better  that  her  shatter 'd  hulk 

Should  sink  beneath  the  wave! 
Her  thunders  shook  the  mighty  deep, 

And  there  should  be  her  grave ! 
Nail  to  the  mast  her  holy  flag, 

Set  every  threadbare  sail, 
And  give  her  to  the  god  of  storms. 

The  lightning  and  the  gale!" 

Can  any  pupil  feel  the  intensity  of  the  poet's  in- 
dignation and  outraged  patriotism  who  has  not 
heard  this  declaimed  and  who  does  not  accompany 
the  words,  even  in  silent  reading,  with  images  of  the 
effort  he  would  make  in  oral  declamation?  Many 
of  the  best  selections  in  all  our  books  are  of  this 
nature,  and,  therefore,  systematic  drill  in  the  mechan- 
ics of  reading  is  indispensable  if  reading  is  to  yield 
its  richest  content  as  a  school  study. 

(i)  Literature  for  the  Ear.  —  "Literature  is  a  thing 
for  the  ear  as  well  as  for  the  eye ;  indeed,  it  was 
originally  a  thing  only  for  the  ear."  ^  Only  within 
the  modern  era  of  printing  has  the  eye  enjoyed  a 
monopoly  of  literary  entertainment.  "The  pleas- 
ures of   literature  are  enhanced  by  the  cultivation 

1  The  Teaching  of  English,  Carpenter,  Baker  and  Scott,  Longmans,  1903. 


144     THK   PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACHING   READING 

of  the  car.  The  rhylhms  of  verse  and  prose,  Ihe  fit- 
ness between  the  sound  and  the  idea,  often  escape 
the  child  unless  he  hears  them.  He  has  not  learned  to 
read  literature  until  he  has  come  to  hear  the  souftd  while 
he  reads  silently,  and  the  necessary  equipment  for  this 
feat  is  a  full  memory  of  the  sounds  of  literary  pieces."  ^ 
"The  Greeks  .  .  .  regarded  writing  simply  as  a 
method  of  chronicling.  Their  test  was  always  the 
spoken  word  in  its  musical  and  metrical  relations. 
The  voice  was  the  medium,  and  the  ear  the  critic. 
I  have  sometimes  thought  that  the  story  of  Homer's 
blindness  might  be  really  an  artistic  myth,  created 
in  critical  days,  and  serving  to  remind  us,  not  merely 
that  the  great  poet  is  always  a  seer,  seeing  less  with 
the  eyes  of  the  body  than  he  does  with  the  eyes  of 
the  soul,  but  that  he  is  a  true  singer  also,  building 
his  song  out  of  music,  repeating  each  line  over  and 
over  again  to  himself  till  he  has  caught  the  secret  of 
its  melody,  chaunting  in  darkness  the  words  that  are 
winged  with  light.  Certainly,  whether  this  be  so  or 
not,  it  was  to  his  blindness,  as  an  occasion  if  not  as  a 
cause,  that  England's  great  poet  owed  much  of  the 
majestic  movement  and  sonorous  splendor  of  his 
later  verse.  .  .  .     When   Milton  became  blind  he 

*  Carpenter,  Baker  and  Scott,  op.  cU. 


METHODS  OF  TEACHING  READING  145 

composed,  as  every  one  should  compose,  with  the 
voice  purely,  and  so  the  pipe  or  reed  of  earlier 
days  became  the  mighty  many-stopped  organ  whose 
rich  reverberant  music  has  all  the  stateliness  of 
Homeric  verse,  .  .  .  and  is  the  one  imperishable  in- 
heritance of  English  literature."  ^ 

Speaking  on  the  necessity  of  systematic  education 
in  the  elements  of  vocal  expression,  Corson  says: 
"How  is  this  essential  life  of  a  poem  to  be  imparted  ? 
By  the  fullest  interpreting  vocal  rendering.  That 
is,  you  must  know  how  to  read  it  —  to  exhibit  the 
indefinable,  spiritual  atmosphere  of  the  work  by 
intonation,  quality  of  voice,  etc.,  as  an  accomplished 
elocutionist  reads  a  favorite  poem  of  Riley's.  You 
can't  do  it  by  lecturing.  A  lecture  about  music  is 
no  substitute  for  a  rendering  of  it.  Verse,  especially, 
must  first  be  appreciated  as  an  inseparable  part  of  the 
expression;  that  is,  felt  in  its  organic  character,  be- 
fore it  is  analyzed,  and  it  therefore  needs  more  than 
prose,  to  be  vocally  interpreted."  ^ 

In  the  play  of  Hamlet  one  of  the  most  thrilling 
episodes  is  what  is  called  the  "Closet  Scene"  (Act 
HI,  Scene  IV):  — 

^  Intentions,  by  Oscar  Wilde,  Thomas  B.  Mosher,  1904,  p.  103. 
2  The  Aims  of  Literary  Study,  Hiram  Corson,  The  Macmillan  Co., 
1895,  p.  106. 


146     Tin:   PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACHING   READING 

^' IJantlel.     Li)ok  here,  upon  this  picture,  and  on  this, 
The  counterfeit  presentment  of  two  brothers. 
See,  what  a  grace  was  seated  on  this  brow  : 
Hyperion's  curls ;  the  front  of  Jove  himself ; 
An  eye  like  Mars',  to  threaten  and  command; 
A  station  like  the  herald  Mercury 
New-lighted  on  a  heaven-kissing  hill. 
This  was  your  husband.     Look  you  now  what  follows : 
Here  is  your  husband ;  like  a  mildew'd  ear, 
Blasting  his  wholesome  brother.     Have  you  eyes  ?  "  etc. 

The  Queen,  overcome  by  this  terrible  denuncia- 
tion, exclaims :  — 

"No  more!" 

But  Hamlet  proceeds :  — 

"A  murtherer  and  a  villain ; 
A  slave  that  is  not  twentieth  part  the  tithe 
Of  your  precedent  lord ;  a  vice  of  kings ; 
A  cutpurse  of  the  empire  and  the  rule, 
That  from  a  shelf  the  precious  diadem  stole, 
And  put  it  in  his  pocket!  .  .  . 
A  king  of  shreds  and  patches,  — " 

It  is  here  that  the  power  of  a  great  actor  like  Edwin 
Booth,  whom  the  writer  remembers  in  this  connec- 
tion, displays  itself.  The  sudden  transition  from 
the  stern  and  pathetic,  the  angry  and  impassioned, 
to  the  horror  at  the  appearance  of  the  Ghost,  can 


METHODS  OF  TEACHING  READING  147 

only  be  realized  when  the  voice  and  action  of  the 
actor-artist  accompany  the  lines  of  Shakespeare. 

The  Queen  does  not  see  the  Ghost;  Hamlet  does; 
and  she  exclaims :  — 

''Alas!  he's  mad!" 

Then  when  she  says, 
"Whereon  do  you  look?" 

And  he  answers, 

"On  him!  on  him!  —  Look  you  how  pale  he  glares!" 

The  Queen  asks :  — 

"To  whom  do  you  speak  this ? 
Hamlet.     Do  you  see  nothing  there  ? 
Queen.     Nothing  at  all ;  yet  all  that  is  I  see. 
Hamlet.     Nor  did  you  nothing  hear  ? 
Queen.     No,  nothing  but  ourselves. 
Hamlet.     Why,  look  you  there!  look,  how  it  steals  away. 
My  father,  in  his  habit  as  he  lived." 

All  this  time  Hamlet,  with  his  eyes  fixed  and  finger 
pointed,  follows  the  movement  of  the  Ghost,  and  when 
he  pronounces  the  words,  "My  father,"  the  Queen 
shrieks,  and  the  audience  is  ready  to  scream  also 
with  mingled  amazement,  horror,  and  admiration. 

I  have  heard  it  said  that  thought-getting  is  the 
only  object  of  reading;  and  therefore  silent  reading 
should  occupy  most  of  the  reading  period. 


14S      Tin:    PRINCIPLES  OF   TEACHING    READING 

I  rcpl}-  that  thought  is  only  a  part  of  the  content 
of  reading ;  the  emotional  element  is  frequently  of 
far  greater  consequence  than  the  intellectual.  Will 
anyone  say  that  a  pupil  could  get,  from  such  a  passage 
as  I  have  quoted,  any  adequate  realization  of  its 
soul-stirring  passion  by  silently  reading  it?  It  is 
impossible.  In  order  to  feel  what  is  in  the  poet's 
lines,  you  must  either  express  them  orally,  or  hear 
some  one  else  express  them,  or  think  them  in  the 
form  of  muscular  images.  The  way  you  say  a  thing 
determines  the  way  it  impresses  you ;  and  if  you  do 
not  actually  say  it,  "^he  w^ay  you  conceive  the  ex- 
pression,—  the  imaged  emphasis,  slides,  pauses,  etc., 
—  reacts  upon  the  idea  and  helps  to  determine  its 
power  over  your  soul. 

For  a  detailed  discussion  of  the  elements  of  vocal 
expression,  the  reader  is  referred  to  manuals  on  elocu- 
tion.^ What  is  desired  here  is  such  emphasis  of  the 
importance  of  the  subject  that  the  teacher  may  feel 
the  need  of  special  preparation.  In  so-called  art 
education  there  is  now  going  on  a  slow  revolution. 
Thousands  of  teachers  are  studying  the  principles 
and  receiving  drill  in  the  practice  of  drawing,  design, 

^  Especially  such  works  as  Clark's  How  to  Teach  Reading  in  the  Public 
Schools,  Scott,  Foresman  &  Co.,  Chicago,  and  Fulton  and  Trueblood's 
Practical  Elements  of  Elocution,  Ginn  &  Co.,  Boston, 


METHODS  OF  TEACHING  READING  149 

picture  study,  etc.,  who  a  dozen  years  ago  were  con- 
sidered good  teachers  of  drawing.  Much  the  same 
thing  is  happening  in  music.  Reading  alone  re- 
mains as  it  was  twenty  years  ago,  if,  indeed,  it  has 
not  deteriorated.  The  subject-matter  of  reading  has 
vastly  improved ;  but  in  the  art  of  oral  expression, 
no  revival  has  come.  We  want  to  preach  a  new 
crusade.  We  want  teachers  to  realize  that  reading 
is  an  art  that  requires  special  preparation  just  as 
much  as  music  and  drawing.  We  would  not  under- 
value subject-matter,  nor  the  ability  to  abstract 
rapidly  for  one's  own  use  the  thought-content  of  a 
book.  But  we  want  in  addition  to  these  excellen- 
cies such  a  culture  in  the  art  of  expression  that  the 
reader's  own  feelings  may  be  aroused  and  his  imagi- 
nation kindled.  Thus  will  be  increased  mightily  the 
power  of  literature  upon  reader  and  hearer. 

(2)  High  School  Reading.  —  The  best  authorities 
insist  that  as  the  pupil  ascends  in  the  grades  he  shall 
hear  not  less,  but  more  expressive,  reading  by  the 
teacher.  The  emotional  appeal  has  been  empha- 
sized in  the  primary  and  grammar  grades,  and  this 
is  done  chiefly  by  adequate  oral  rendering.  But 
now  we  are  to  enable  the  student  to  appreciate 
subtler  beauties,  as  revealed  by  the  varieties  and 


I50      THE   PRINCirLES  OF  TEACHING   READING 

intricacies  of  verse.  This  again  is  best  accomi)lished 
by  oral  inteq')retatii)n.  Shakespeare  especially  needs 
the  oral  rendition.  His  lines  were  written  chiefly  to 
be  heard,  not  read.  Sir  Henry  Taylor  says  that  he 
regards  the  reading  of  Shakespeare  to  boys  and  girls, 
if  he  be  well  read  and  they  are  apt,  as  carrying  with 
it  a  deeper  cultivation  than  anything  else  which  can 
be  done  to  cultivate  them.  "There  are  few  gifts," 
says  Mr.  Chubb,  "if  any,  that  will  atone  for  the 
absence  in  an  English  teacher  of  the  powers  to  read 
Shakespeare  well."  Accordingly  this  author  rec- 
ommends that  the  first  reading  of  a  Shakespearean 
play  be  entirely  by  the  teacher,  with  a  minimum  of 
comment.  Such  a  reading  will  leave  upon  the  pupil 
a  deep  and  lasting  impression  of  the  play  as  a  whole, 
of  the  "rise  and  fall  of  emotional  emphasis,  and  of 
its  poetic  power." 

(3)  5.  H.  Clark  on  Oral  Reading.  —  Mr.  S.  H. 
Clark  ^  has  compressed  ten  valuable  ideas  on  reading 
into  a  little  booklet  of  59  pages.  According  to  this 
treatment  the  essentials  of  oral  reading  may  be 
taught  under  the  following  heads :  — 

(a)  Words. 

"We  must  get  the  thought;   we  must  liold   the 

'  How  to  Read  Aloiid,  published  by  the  author,  at  Chicago  University. 


METHODS   OF   TEACHING   READING  151 

thought;  and  we  must  give  the  thought.     This  is 

reading  aloud."     To  do  this  we  must  attend  closely 

to  individual  words,  so  that  we  may  have  in  mind 

clearly  the  ideas  for  which  they  stand. 

(6)  Grouping. 

"I  saw  a  man  in  a  steam  car."     (Two  groups.) 
"I  went  to  King  Street  with  my  sister  to  buy  a  new  hat." 
(Three  groups.) 

Intelligence  is  shown  and  effectiveness  produced 
by  the  correct  grouping  of  the  words  to  express 
succession  of  ideas. 

(c)  Sentences. 

"I  saw  a  cat,  and  a  mouse,  and  a  rat." 
"But  when  the  gray  dawn  stole  into  his  tent, 
He  rose,  and  clad  himself,  and  girt  his  sword, 
And  took  his  horseman's  cloak,  and  left  his  tent." 

The  sentence  is  the  unit  of  a  complete  thought, 
and  the  individual  words  and  groups  must  be  so 
pronounced  as  to  convey  clearly  to  the  hearer  the 
difference  between  the  incomplete  (word  or  group) 
and  the  complete  (sentence)  thought.  This  requires 
looking  ahead,  which  for  the  beginner  is  a  difficult 
feat. 

(d)  Subordination. 

"The  King  of  England,  who  was  a  very  brave  man,  won 
several  victories  over  the  French." 


152     TIIE  PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACHING  READING 

"During  the  Christmas  vacation,  which  lasts  ten  days,  I 
went  to  see  my  granclmolhcr." 

Subordination  is  an  important  principle  of  all  art. 
There  is  one  dominant  feature  (sometimes  more  than 
one)  and  one  or  more  subordinate  elements.  In  oral 
reading,  the  voice  must  show  the  relative  impor- 
tance of  dififerent  parts  of  the  sentence. 

(c)  Transition. 

"There's  a  good  time  coming,  boys, 
A  good  —  Come  in!" 

"'Halt !'     The  dust-brown  ranks  stood  fast. 
'  Fire  ! '    Out  blazed  the  rifle-blast. ' ' 

Here  is  a  phase  of  reading  not  previously  consid- 
ered —  the  sudden  interruption  of  the  train  of 
thought  by  ideas  that  are  foreign  to  it.  In  the  last 
exercise  a  group  was  thrown  in  that  seemed  to  ex- 
plain or  supplement  the  principal  thought.  In  the 
present  case  the  first  thought  is  driven  entirely  out 
of  the  mind  by  the  second. 

(/)  EmpJmsis. 

"I  heard  William  say  it." 

"I  should  rather  be  a  lawyer  than  a  doctor." 

The  exact  meaning  of  a  sentence  cannot  be 
expressed  without  laying  the  emphasis  on  the 
proper    words.     Various    meanings    may    be    read 


METHODS  OF  TEACHING  READING  153 

into   the   above   examples  by    a    mere    change  of 
emphasis. 

(g)  Emotion.     (Sympathetic.) 

"Three  cheers  for  our  class  !" 

"Farewell,  a  long  farewell  to  all  my  greatness  !" 

Ideas  and  thoughts  are  not  the  only  content  of 
reading.  Many  passages  appeal  to  the  feelings.  In 
the  above  instances  the  reader  must  imagine  him- 
self in  the  situation  of  the  one  who  utters  the  words, 
and  then  try  to  express  the  passage  as  the  person 
so  situated  would  do  it. 

(h)  Emotion.     (Personal.) 

"The  other  day  a  little  child  came  to  its  mother,  sajdng, 
'  Oh,  mother !  I  just  saw  a  beautiful  toy  in  the  window ;  I 
wish  you  would  buy  it  for  me.'  The  sweet  voice  was  full  of 
pleading.  The  mother  was  very  poor,  and  had  hardly  earned 
enough  to  pay  for  fuel.  How  could  she  spare  even  the  few 
pennies  for  the  toy?  But  she  said  to  herself,  'This  is  Christ- 
mas time ' ;  and  the  tears  came  into  her  eyes.  The  little  one 
saw  the  tears,  and  said,  '  What  are  you  crying  for,  mother  ? ' 
And  then  the  mother  hugged  her  child  to  her  breast  and  kissed 
her  again  and  again,  saying  over  and  over :  '  Because  I  love  you ! 
Because  I  love  you ! ' 

"When  Christmas  morning  dawned,  the  little  toy  was  on 
the  mantel,  and  the  child  was  happy.  But  when  the  time 
for  breakfast  came,  the  child  asked  her  mother  why  she  did 
not  eat;    and  the  mother  answered,   'I  am  not   hungry, 


154     THE   PRINCIPLES  OE   TEACHING   READING 

darling;  don't  mind  mc,'  and  she  sniik-d  tenderly  upon  the 
sweet  face  upturned  to  kiss  her." 

Here,  if  one  reads  attentively  and  sympathetically, 
he  is  touched  with  real  emotion,  which  will  give  his 
reading  a  tender  and  pathetic  effectiveness. 

(/)  Contrast. 

"Last  week  I  was  sleighing  and  skating  in  ^linncapolis ; 
but  to-day  I  am  plucking  violets  and  japonicas  in  the  gardens 
of  Savannah." 

All  art  requires  contrast.  To  heighten  the  effect 
of  the  lights  in  a  picture  the  darks  are  introduced. 
So  ideas  are  made  more  emphatic  in  reading  by  being 
contrasted  wdth  other  ideas. 

ij)  Clhnax. 

"I  know  it,  I  concede  it,  I  confess  it,  I  proclaim  it." 

5.  Class  Criticism  of  Oral  Reading.  —  Children 
inevitably  make  mistakes  in  reading  as  they  do  in 
other  recitations.  How  shall  these  errors  be  cor- 
rected ?  And  what  shall  be  the  standard  of  accuracy 
to  be  insisted  upon?  Perfection  we  shall  never 
attain  because  neither  we  nor  the  children  are  per- 
fect in  anything.  Our  own  standard  may  be  im- 
perfect; and  though  the  children  succeed  in  satis- 
fying us,  their  performances  may  still  be  defective. 
If  they  do  not  reach  our  ideal,  they  may  be  nearer 
right  than  we  are.     In  matters  of  fact,  as  in  science 


METHODS  OF  TEACHING  READING  155 

and  mathematics,  it  is  possible  to  measure  the  degree 
of  accuracy  in  the  result,  and  to  declare  positively 
this  is  right  and  this  is  wrong.  But  in  all  forms  of 
art,  where  perfection  is  a  variable  term  depending 
on  individual  tastes,  the  measure  of  success  is  far 
more  difficult  than  in  the  case  of  exact  science.  In 
drawing,  for  instance,  what  may  we  expect  of  the 
child?  How  accurate  must  he  be  in  order  to  be 
credited  with  a  satisfactory  recitation?  If  our 
standard  is  too  high,  the  pupil  becomes  discouraged, 
his  spontaneity  is  crushed  out  of  him,  arid  he  learns 
to  measure  his  success  by  the  nearness  of  his  ap- 
proach to  our  arbitrary  standard,  thus  becoming  a 
mechanical  imitator.  If  our  standard  is  too  low, 
if  we  accept  any  product  he  chooses  to  give  us,  how- 
ever slovenly  and  faulty,  we  can  have  no  assurance 
that  he  will  make  any  progress. 

(i)  The  Standard  of  a  Good  Recitation.  —  Some 
standard  there  must  be,  and  a  reasonable  one  is  that 
the  pupil  shall  have  done  his  best.  Imperfections 
which  are  clearly  the  result  of  inattention,  indiffer- 
ence, and  carelessness  must  be  positively  rejected 
and  treated,  by  an  earnest  and  conscientious  teacher, 
as  an  affront.  Careful  discrimination  on  the  part 
of  the  teacher  is  absolutely  essential.     Of  two  pupils 


156     THE   PRINCIPLES  OP  TEACHING   READING 

equally  successful  when  judged  by  an  absolute 
standard,  one  may  deserve  praise  and  the  other  cen- 
sure when  judged  in  the  light  of  their  relative  abili- 
ties. Progress  and  fidelity  deserve  consideration 
quite  as  much  as  successful  achievement. 

In  reading,  some  elements,  like  the  meaning,  pro- 
nunciation, and  spelling  of  words,  are  measured  by 
the  dictionary-,  which  is  a  relatively  constant  and 
uniform  standard.  In  spelling  there  can  be  no  com- 
promise. Absolute  accuracy  is  the  only  result  that 
can  be  accepted.  One  might  as  well  make  truce 
with  a  false  multiplication  table  as  to  praise  a  pupil 
for  misspelling  a  word.  The  standard  of  pronuncia- 
tion is  only  a  trifle  less  rigorous  than  that  of  spelling. 
Accuracy  is  the  watchword.  But  when  we  come 
to  such  matters  as  the  modulation  of  the  voice,  the 
grouping  of  phrases,  the  management  of  pauses, 
sHdes,  gestures,  facial  expressions,  etc.,  we  are  in 
the  domain  of  art,  w^here  mechanical  rules  count  for 
so  little,  and  artistic  temperament  and  method  for 
so  much.  It  would  be  quite  impossible  to  account 
by  rules  for  the  success  of  Edwin  Booth  or  Joseph 
Jefferson.  There  may  be  a  dozen  ways  of  reading 
a  given  passage,  all  effective,  and  yet  so  complex  and 
subtle  as  to  defy  complete  analysis  and  description. 


METHODS  OF  TEACHING   READING  157 

(2)  Who  is  to  criticise,  atid  How  ?  —  With  the 
question  of  standard  disposed  of,  we  pass  next  to 
the  consideration  of  the  methods  of  criticism.  And, 
first,  who  is  to  criticise?  Shall  the  teacher  assist 
every  time  the  pupil  hesitates?  When  an  error 
occurs,  shall  the  teacher  or  the  class  break  in  and 
make  the  correction,  thus  interrupting  the  current 
of  thought  in  the  reading  ? 

We  have  two  kinds  of  reading;  namely,  regular 
and  supplementary.  The  regular  lesson  is  usually 
prepared  either  in  the  class  room  or  at  home.  Supple- 
mentary reading  is  frequently  not  prepared  in  the 
class  and  is  never  prepared  at  home.  In  the  case 
of  a  prepared  lesson,  the  average  pupil  under  normal 
circumstances  should  make  few  mistakes  in  pronun- 
ciation. Expression,  being  an  artistic  process,  may 
result  in  a  greater  number  of  errors ;  but,  the  stand- 
ard being  flexible,  the  mode  of  criticism  must  be 
different  from  that  employed  in  the  case  of  pronuncia- 
tion. Even  in  supplementary  reading  the  lesson 
should  be  prepared  if  possible.  But,  the  object  of 
this  form  of  reading  being  to  supply  information,  the 
ground  to  be  covered  sometimes  makes  it  impossible 
to  spend  much  time  on  preparatory  work. 

I  beheve  a  pupil  should  never  be  interrupted  by 


158      nil-:    TRTXCIPLES  OF  TEACHING   READING 

teacher  or  pujul  until  he  has  reached  the  end  of  a 
I)aragra})h.  If  he  comes  to  a  word  which  he  cannot 
pronounce,  instead  of  hesitating,  he  ought  to  be 
taught  to  pass  on  without  trying  to  pronounce  it, 
or  to  call  it  "blank."  When  he  sits  down,  the  pupils 
who  ha\c  noticed  the  errors  may  raise  hands ;  but 
in  order  to  insure  careful  attention,  the  teacher 
should  frequently  call  for  criticisms  from  those  who 
do  not  volunteer.  These  criticisms  should  be  as 
simple  and  direct  as  possible  and  should  never  be 
unkind.  If  the  error  is  in  pronunciation,  the  pupil 
may  say,  "Blank  was  mispronounced,"  or  he  may 
simply  give  the  correct  pronunciation,  without  any 
explanation.  If  the  mistake  is  in  expression  or  inter- 
pretation, the  pupil  may  state  the  error,  give  the 
correct  form,  and  state  his  reason.  The  teacher 
should  keep  in  the  background  and  offer  suggestions 
only  to  supplement  or  correct  the  class.  In  persist- 
ent or  peculiar  cases  of  mispronunciation  the  words 
should  be  written  on  the  board  and  the  entire  class 
should  be  carefully  drilled  until  the  difficulty  is  over- 
come. 

6.  Reading  to  Pupils.  —  We  have  already  consid- 
ered the  need  and  value  of  reading  to  pupils  in  the 
study  of  literature  for  the  purpose  of  setting  stand- 


METHODS  OF  TEACHING  READING     159 

ards  of  expression  and  securing  adequate  apprecia- 
tion through  the  ear.  In  the  lower  grades,  also, 
such  reading  has  its  uses.  The  first  reading  of  poetry 
especially  should  be  done  by  the  teacher.  Before 
the  pupil  has  acquired  facility  in  the  mechanics  of 
reading  the  teacher  reads  much  to  supplement  the 
meagre  amounts  read  by  the  class  itself.  In  another 
part  of  this  book  we  have  indicated  the  chief  ob- 
jects of  this  reading  and  the  books  used  in  the  several 
grades  by  the  schools  of  New  York.^  In  the  first  and 
second  years  the  amount  read  to  children  exceeds 
that  read  by  themselves.  From  the  third  year  up- 
wards the  children  read  more  than  the  teacher. 

7.  Memorizing.  —  In  all  good  schools  the  memoriz- 
ing of  standard  prose  and  verse  is  to-day  a  part  of 
the  prescribed  work  in  English.  In  the  syllabus  of 
the  New  York  schools  the  material  to  be  memorized 
is  suggested  for  each  of  the  sixteen  grades.  What 
this  means  to  the  army  of  seven  hundred  thousand 
children  who  are  thus  absorbing  culture  it  is  difficult 
to  exaggerate.  What  we  learn  in  childhood  we 
remember  throughout  life.  The  stores  of  lofty  senti- 
ment, of  happy  diction,  of  poetic  rapture  thus  laid 
by  will  serve  in  all  the  future  as  a  source  of  supply 

1  Chap.  VI. 


i6o     Tin:    PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACHING   READING 

for  oral  and  writlcn  speech.  The  ethical  influence 
is  no  less  important  than  the  aesthetic. 

"Whene'er  a  noble  deed  is  wrought, 
Whene'er  is  spoken  a  noble  thought, 
Our  hearts  in  glad  surprise 
To  higher  levels  rise." 

The  emotional  stirrings  which  accompany  the  mem- 
orizing and  proper  recitation  of  masterful  literature 
leave  the  pupil  forever  richer  in  the  furnishings  of 
the  soul. 

I  regret  to  say  that,  according  to  my  experience 
as  a  supervisor  of  teachers,  the  memorizing  of  poetry 
is  badly  done.  I  have  seen  beautiful  literature 
murdered  in  hundreds  of  classes;  and  I  have  also 
heard  poems  recited  in  a  manner  so  vivid  and  con- 
vincing that  the  effect  was  simply  thrilling.  I  fear 
that  in  the  majority  of  class  rooms  the  poems  are 
merely  given  to  the  children  to  memorize  without 
being  explained,  interpreted,  or  read  aloud.  The 
result  is  deplorable.  It  is  even  exceptional  to  find 
a  class  in  which  the  children  give  evidence  of  ade- 
quate comprehension  by  proper  expression.  This 
very  day  I  examined  a  fifth-year  class  on  memory 
work.  A  girl  was  called  upon  to  recite  Longfellow's 
Tlie  Arrow  mid   the  Song.     She  went  through  the 


METHODS  OF  TEACfflNG   READING  i6i 

piece  in  a  monotonous  and  mechanical  sort  of  way, 
indicating  clearly  enough  that  she  was  merely  re- 
calling words  in  a  given  sequence  rather  than  de- 
livering a  worthy  message  for  the  uplift  of  the  class. 
Here  is  the  poem :  — 

"  I  shot  an  arrow  into  the  air, 
It  fell  to  earth  I  knew  not  where ; 
For,  so  swiftly  it  flew,  the  sight 
Could  not  follow  it  in  its  flight. 

"  I  breathed  a  song  into  the  air. 
It  fell  to  earth  I  knew  not  where ; 
For  who  has  sight  so  keen  and  strong 
That  it  can  follow  the  flight  of  song  ? 

"Long,  long  afterward,  in  an  oak 
I  found  the  arrow  still  unbroke ; 
And  the  song,  from  beginning  to  end, 
I  found  again  in  the  heart  of  a  friend." 

I  asked  the  little  girl  what  is  meant  by  the  last 
two  lines.  Apparently  it  had  never  occurred  to  her 
that  the  words  meant  anything.  The  class  had  not 
been  trained  to  look  for  meaning.  They  recited  the 
words  as  if  words,  as  such,  satisfied  the  requirements 
of  the  situation.  There  was  not  a  single  pupil  in 
this  class  who  could  give  an  intelligent  answer  to  my 
question.    When  I  suggested  to  the  girl  who  had 


i62     TIIE  rRINCIPLES  OF  TEACHING   READING 

recited  that  she  was  the  "friend"  in  whose  heart  this 
particular  song  might  be  found,  the  whole  class 
awoke  with  a  new  interest. 

The  moral  of  this  experience  is  that  to  cast  these 
precious  gems  of  literature  at  the  feet  of  children 
without  telling  them  what  to  do  with  them  or  how 
to  appreciate  them  is  almost  a  capital  crime.  In 
ever}^  instance  these  pieces  should  be  given  to  the 
children,  if  possible,  in  printed  or  typewritten  form. 
And  this  is  possible,  for  a  well-known  house  pub- 
lishes a  series  of  books  containing  all  the  poetry  for 
memorizing  prescribed  by  the  principal  cities  of  the 
United  States.  The  poem  should  then  be  read  by 
the  teacher.  Any  explanation  necessary  for  the 
creation  of  the  proper  mood  or  atmosphere  must  be 
made  in  connection  with  the  reading.  Then  the 
children  must  learn  to  read  themselves,  every  pause, 
emphasis,  slide,  being  carefully  noted  and  understood. 
Only  then  should  the  class  be  allowed  to  memorize 
the  words. 

8.  Story-telling.  —  Blessed  is  the  teacher  who 
knows  how  to  tell  stories ;  for  she  is  a  well-spring  of 
joy  to  her  pupils  and  mistress  of  one  of  the  most 
useful  tools  of  education.  In  the  primary  grades 
there  is  reading  by  the  pupils,  reading  to  the  pupils, 


METHODS  OF  TEACHING   READING  163 

and  memorizing  of  poetry.  There  should  also  be 
some  story-telling.  What  story-telling  is,  and  what 
stories  to  tell,  has  been  recently  made  very  plain  by 
Miss  Bryant's  two  volumes  on  the  subject.  But  the 
art  of  handling  stories  cannot  be  taught  by  books. 
In  its  best  form  it  is  a  natural  gift  chiefly;  for  it 
involves  the  knack  of  gesture,  intonation,  and  facial 
expression  to  indicate  surprise,  anger,  joy,  sorrow, 
transition,  suspense,  and  the  whole  gamut  of  human 
emotion.  For  the  majority,  unfortunately,  it  is  not 
a  gift,  but  an  acquisition.  It  is  of  course  impossible 
here  to  define  the  elusive  charm  of  a  good  story- 
teller. But  a  few  elements  of  success  may  be  briefly 
outlined  as  follows :  — 

(i)  The  teacher  must  know  and  like  children,  and 
have  imagination  enough  to  sympathize  with  their 
point  of  view. 

(2)  She  must  master  the  story  she  would  teU  in 
all  its  many-sided  possibilities.  The  main  topics 
should  be  firmly  held  in  mind,  so  that  the  narrative 
may  proceed  in  logical  order. 

(3)  She  must  have  skill  in  the  use  of  apt,  simple, 
and  forceful  language. 

(4)  She  ought  to  have  a  charming  personality, 
musical  intonation,  clear  enunciation,  refined  pro- 


1 64      nil:    PRINCIPLES   OF   TEACHING   READING 

nunciation,  with  all  the  magic  of  personal  coloring 
and  mimicry. 

(5)  She  must,  "without  the  aid  of  lute  or  lyre, 
chant  or  interlude,  be  a  magician  of  all  childish  moods, 
in  the  compass  from  grave  to  gay;  able  to  touch 
lightly  the  minor  chords  that  are  needed  to  bring  out 
the  triumphant  major  passages."  ^ 

(6)  "Imagination  and  feeling,"  says  Richard 
Thomas  Wyche,-  "are  two  essential  elements  in 
literature.  He  who  tells  a  story  must  deal  with 
these  as  he  would  with  an  intimate  friend.  .  .  .  He 
must  feel  that  heroism  and  self-sacrifice  that  entered 
into  Ulysses  as  he  said  farewell  to  Penelope  and  her 
people,  and  with  hopes  sailed  away  to  Troy  to  rescue 
Helen,  the  stolen  queen.  .  .  .  He  must  feel  his 
sorrow  and  disappointment  when  his  ships  were 
swept  out  of  their  course  and  he  became  a  wanderer 
over  the  face  of  the  deep.  ...  But  the  mental 
processes  of  expression  are  more  than  seeing  and 
feeling.  One  must  will.  He  who  would  tell  a  story 
successfully  must  take  the  bit  in  his  teeth ;  believe  in 
himself,  will  that  his  audience  see  with  him  the  mental 
pictures,  and  feel  with  him  the  truth  of  the  story." 

*  Chubb,  The  Teaching  of  English,  The  Macmillan  Co.,  1909,  p.  44. 

*  Some  Great  Stories  and  How  to  Tell  Them,  by  Richard  Thomas  Wyche, 
Newsoa  &  Co.,  N.  Y.,  1910,  p.  92. 


CHAPTER  VI 

A   QUANTITATIVE   STUDY   OF   READING 

A  SUPERVISOR  of  schools  is  required  constantly  to 
pass  qualitative  judgment  on  the  work  of  teachers. 
He  ranks  the  abilities  of  his  subordinates  as  good, 
bad,  or  indifferent.  Generally  the  teacher's  license 
or  tenure  of  employment  depends  upon  the  rating 
thus  given.  It  is  evident,  however,  that  the  effi- 
ciency of  teaching  is  determined  by  quantity  as  well 
as  by  quality.  One  is  not  able,  by  a  half-hour's  ob- 
servation alone,  to  say  with  perfect  assurance  that 
the  work  of  a  given  class  is  in  all  respects  satisfac- 
tory, for  the  method  of  doing  a  piece  of  work  may 
be  quite  correct,  while  the  net  result  may  at  the  same 
time  be  unsatisfactory.  Thus,  in  reading,  the  mode 
of  presentation  may  be  faultless,  the  fluency  and 
expression  of  the  pupils  may  be  admirable,  yet  the 
work  as  a  whole  may  be  a  miserable  farce  because 
too  little  ground  has  been  covered.  To  be  entirely 
certain  that  reading  has  been  well  taught,  one  must 

i6S 


i66     TIIE   PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACHING   READING 

know  not  merely  how  glibly  a  given  lesson  is  read, 
but  also  the  quantity  of  material  that  has  been  mas- 
tered. 

How  shall  we  determine  the  amount  read  ?  What 
shall  be  the  unit  of  measure  ?  What  is  a  reasonable 
amount  of  reading  for  each  of  the  several  grades  of 
an  elementary  school  ?  What  is  the  relation  of  the 
quality  and  quantity  of  the  reading  to  the  amount 
of  time  devoted  to  the  subject  ? 

These  and  kindred  questions  the  present  inquiry 
is  designed  to  answer. 

I.  The  Unit.  —  It  is  evident  that  the  page  is  not 
a  satisfactory  unit  of  measure,  because  it  is  not  a 
fixed  quantity.  Pages  vary  in  size,  as  well  as  in  the 
kind  of  type  and  spacing.  The  most  perfect  kind 
of  measurement  is  that  in  which  the  unit  itself  is 
measured.  Counting  eggs  is  a  crude  way  of  esti- 
mating value,  because  some  eggs  are  large  and  some 
are  small.  Measuring  wheat  by  the  bushel  is  inac- 
curate, because  the  measure  may  vary  by  being  level, 
heaped,  shaken  down,  or  by  some  other  mode  of 
modification.  Therefore,  when  large  quantities  of 
wheat  are  handled,  the  bushel  is  measured  in  terms 
of  pounds,  and  wheat  is  sold  by  weight. 

In  this  study  the  word  is  the  primary  unit  of  meas- 


A  QUANTITATIVE  STUDY  OF  READING        167 

ure.  It  is  true  that  words  differ  in  length,  but,  on 
the  whole,  a  thousand  words  of  reading  matter  con- 
stitute a  pretty  constant  factor,  unmodified  by  size 
of  page  or  type  or  spacing.  In  order  to  avoid  the 
use  of  too  many  figures,  I  have  adopted  the  derived 
unit  of  one  thousand  words  for  all  quantitative  com- 
parison of  reading  matter.  The  reader  will  interpret 
the  figures  in  the  tables  which  follow  accordingly. 

The  blank  used  in  the  investigation  was  prepared 
by  the  writer  and  sent  out  at  the  close  of  the  term 
ending  June  30,  1910,  to  each  of  the  twenty-three 
schools  in  his  district.  The  returns  exhibit  the  work 
of  over  700  teachers  and  about  30,000  children. 

Report  on  Reading 
During  present  term  to  date :  191 

P.  S Bor.  of Class Teacher  .... 

Note  i.  — In  making  up  this  estimate  for  mas- 
terpieces read  in  the  upper  grades,  only  matter  that 
has  been  completed  by  first,  second,  and  third  read- 
ings as  required  by  the  syllabus  is  counted.  Under 
(a),  (b),  etc.,  the  names  of  masterpieces  should  be 
recorded,  as  well  as  the  titles  of  supplementary  read- 
ers in  geography,  history,  etc. 


1 68      Tin:    PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACHING   READING 

Note  2.  —  In  cstiinaling  the  amount  read,  count 
the  words  on  a  full  page  and  multiply  this  number 
by  the  number  of  pages  read,  deducting  space  occu- 
pied by  pictures,  ?naps,  etc. 

Note  3.  —  In  cases  where  a  number  of  classes  of 
the  same  grade  arc  taught  by  a  departmental 
teacher,  a  single  blank  will  do  for  all  classes  having 
read  the  identical  material.  The  names  of  all  such 
classes  included  in  the  report  should  be  entered  at 
the  top  of  the  blank.  The  figures  will  represent 
what  each  class  has  done. 

1.  Name  of  basic  or  grade         (i)   

reader (j) 

2.  Names  of   additional  or         (k)     

supplementary  readers  : —  4.  Names    of    stories 

(a)   dramatized  :  — 

(b)  (/)    

(c)    (m) 

W  («)  

(e)    (0)   

3.  Names  of  booksusedin  (p)  

reading  to  the  class :  —  (q)   

(/) « 

(«) w 

W  (t)  


A  QUANTITATIVE  STUDY  OF  READING       169 

(«)  M 

W  «  

(v) (y)  

5.  Number  of  different  words  of  all  kinds  taught 

(lA  or  iB)   

6.  Estimated  number  of  words  of  reading  matter 

covered  this  term  in  basic  reader 

7.  Estimated  number  of  words  of  reading  matter 

covered  in  (a)    

8.  Estimated  number  of  words  of  reading  matter 

covered  in  (6) 

9.  Estimated  number  of  words  of  reading  matter 

covered   in    (c) 

10.  Estimated  number  of  words  of  reading  matter 

covered  in  (d) 

11.  Estimated  number  of  words  of  reading  matter 

covered  in  (e)   

Total 

12.  Estimated  number  of  words  of  reading  matter 

covered  in  reading  to  the  class 

13.  Number  of  stories  dramatized  to  date 

14.  Number  of  minutes  per  week  devoted  to  read- 

ing: (a)  basic  or  grade  (+  memory  and  pho- 
netics)   ;    (b)   supplementary    (all 

other,  including  reading  to  class,  but  exclud- 


lyo       rilK    PRlXriPLES  OF  TEAC'HINi;    RKADING 

ing  spelling,  meaning,  use,  etc.) ; 

(r)  Total 

I  ha\'c  inspected  the  above  report  and  believe  it 
to  be  correct. 

(Signed)    Principal. 

Please  mail  tJiis  report  within  three  days  to  the 
District  Superintendent. 

2.  Number  of  Words  taught  in  the  First  Year. — The 
New  York  syllabus  in  reading  requires  that  the  pupil 
shall  be  able  to  recognize  promptly  and  to  pronounce 
correctly  at  least  300  words  during  the  first  term  of 
the  first  year  and  at  least  300  additional  words  during 
the  second  term.  This  study  shows  the  following 
results :  the  average  number  of  words  taught  dur- 
ing the  first  half-year  in  23  schools  is  520;  the  aver- 
age number  during  the  second  half  is  iioo.  These 
schools  therefore  are  doing  much  more  than  is  de- 
manded of  them.  The  range  of  words  is  from  300  to 
1575  for  the  first  term,  and  from  350  to  2368  for  the 
second  term.  For  the  entire  year  the  average  is  1620; 
the  range  is  from  650  to  3556.  The  schools  are  there- 
fore teaching  nearly  three  times  as  many  words  as  the 
syllabus  requires ;  and  when  a  teacher  complains  that 
the  board  of  education  demands  too  much,  the  an- 
swer is  obvious. 


A  QUANTITATIVE   STUDY  OF  READING        171 

3.  Total  Amount  Read.  —  Below  will  be  found  the 
average  amount  read  in  the  several  schools  of  the 
district  during  each  of  the  eight  school  years,  to- 
gether with  the  average  time  devoted  to  reading  as  a 
separate  exercise.  Time  is  given  in  terms  of  minutes 
per  week. 

Average  Amount  read  in  23  Schools 

(Unit  =  1000  words) 
Year    ...         12345678      Total 
Quantity  .     .       25     59  118  198  197  180    95  108  980 

Time    .     .     .     416  365  306  220  216  188  155  135 

The  course  of  study  prescribes  the  minimum  time 
that  may  be  devoted  to  English,  but  permits  the 
principal  to  apportion  this  total  among  the  several 
branches  of  English  at  his  own  discretion.  The  min- 
ima given  are  as  follows :  — 

Minimum  Time  for  English 

Year     ...  12345678 

Time     ...       450     510    450     375     375     375     360    320 

As  grammar,  word-study,  composition,  etc.,  de- 
mand more  time  in  the  higher  grades,  reading  time 
gradually  tapers  off. 

The  maximum  amount  of  reading  is  done  during 
the  fourth,  fifth,  and  sixth  years.     Several  reasons 


172     TIIK   PRINCIPLES  OF   TEACHING   READING 

ma}'  be  assigned  for  this.  First,  tliese  are  the  grades 
where  much  supplementary  reading  is  demanded  in 
history,  gcograjihy,  science,  and  Hterature.  Sec- 
ondh',  in  the  highest  grades,  the  pupil  prepares  his  les- 
sons out  of  school  hours,  and  does  much  of  his  reading 
at  home.  Finally,  in  the  seventh  and  eighth  years, 
masterpieces  of  English  are  read.  These  are  very 
difficult  and  require  three  separate  readings,  as  fol- 
lows :  the  first,  to  get  a  general  idea  of  the  argument, 
drift,  or  plot ;  the  second,  to  master  the  difficulties  of 
word-study,  construction,  figure,  or  allusion;  the 
third,  to  secure  expressive  reading  of  selected  pas- 
sages. 

4.  The  Books  used  in  Reading  by  Children.  —  In 
New  York  we  have  an  open  book  list.  The  board  of 
education,  on  the  recommendation  of  the  board  of 
superintendents,  puts  upon  the  list  all  the  books  and 
general  supplies  deemed  worthy ;  and  upon  each  prin- 
cipal, subject  to  the  approval  of  the  district  super- 
intendent, devolves  the  duty  of  selecting  from  the 
official  list  the  supplies  used  in  his  school.  A  certain 
per  capita  allowance  of  money  is  apportioned  to  each 
school,  and  the  board  of  education  puts  no  restric- 
tion upon  principals  save  that  they  must  order  from 
the  list  and  keep  within  their  allowance. 


A  QUANTITATIVE  STUDY  OF  READING        173 

The  result  of  this  system  is,  in  the  judgment  of  the 
writer,  very  satisfactory.  The  principal  has  thus  a 
chance  to  assert  his  individuality  in  the  choice  of  the 
materials  of  instruction.  Responsibility  goes  with 
power.  If  he  shows  poor  judgment,  he  must  bear  the 
consequences.  If  he  wastes  his  substance  early  in 
the  year  on  expensive  books  and  later  lacks  funds  for 
paper  and  pencils, —  the  bread  and  butter  of  a  school, 
—  he  alone  is  to  blame.  The  knowledge  of  such  re- 
sponsibility sobers  him  into  reflection,  and  makes  him 
a  far  more  valuable  executive  than  he  would  be  if 
some  one  benevolently  undertook  to  do  all  his  think- 
ing for  him. 

With  an  open  book  list,  one  would  naturally  expect 
to  find  great  variety  in  the  choice  of  books.  The 
following  partial  list  of  readers  used  in  the  several 
grades  by  the  schools  of  this  district  shows  that  such 
expectation  is  fully  realized.  No  class  is  limited  to  a 
single  reader.  The  number  of  books  read  in  each 
half-year  grade  during  the  first  three  years  averages 
about  three  per  class,  and  ranges  from  two  to  six. 

First  Year 

Ward's  Primer  and  First;  Jones's  First;  Aldine 
Primer  and  First ;  Cyr's  Primer  and  First ;  Baldwin's 


174     THE   PRIXCIPLKS   OF   TEACHING    READING 

First ;  Culture  Readers,  I  (Miss  Merrill) ;  Finger 
Play  Reader,  I  (Davis  and  Julien) ;  New  Education, 
First ;  Graded  Literature,  I ;  The  McCloskey  Primer ; 
Stepping  Stones,  I ;  Child  Life,  I  (Blaisdell) ;  Lan- 
sing's Rhymes  and  Stories;  Folk  Lore  Stories  and 
Proverbs  (Wiltse) ;  Eugene  Field  Reader ;  Pathways 
in  Nature  and  Literature;  Summer's  Primer;  Pro- 
gressive Road,  I  (Ettinger) ;  Horace  Mann,  First ; 
Art  and  Life  Primer  (Jacobs). 

Secotid  Year 

Ward's  Second  and  Third;  Heath's  Second; 
Fables  and  Rhymes  for  Beginners ;  Pets  and  Compan- 
ions; Brumbaugh's  Second;  Blaisdell's  Child  Life, 
II;  Wilson's  Nature  Study  in  Elementary  Schools; 
Wade  and  Sylvester,  II ;  Wake  Robin,  I ;  Baker  and 
Carpenter's  Second;  Cyr's  Graded  Art  Reader; 
Baldwin's  Second ;  New  Education,  Second ;  Culture, 
Second  ;  Graded  Literature,  Second ;  Cyr's  Second  ; 
Grimm's  Fairy  Tales ;  Book  of  Plays  for  Little  Actors ; 
In  My thland ;  Reynard  the  Fox ;  Aldine,  Second. 

Third  Year 

Ward's  Third ;  Heath's  Third ;  Buckwalter's  Third ; 
A  Child's  Book  of  Poetry;  Blaisdell's  Child  Life, 


A  QUANTITATIVE  STUDY  OF  READING       175 

III ;  All  the  Year  Round,  III ;  Grimm's  Fairy  Tales ; 
Baker  and  Carpenter's  Third;  Jones's  Third;  Child 
Life  in  Tale  and  Fable;  Graded  Literature,  Third; 
Feathers  and  Fur;  Graded  Classic,  III;  Hazen's 
Third ;  Baldwin's  Third ;  Pinocchio ;  Alice  in  Wonder- 
land ;  Cinderella  and  Other  Stories ;  Stepping  Stones, 
III ;  Cyr's  Third ;  Four  New  York  Boys. 

Fourth  Year 

Heath's  Fourth;  Wake  Robin  Series,  II;  Little 
Wanderers;  Good  Health  for  Girls  and  Boys; 
Twilight  Stories;  Four  New  York  Boys;  Sprague's 
Classic  Reader,  IV ;  Good  Citizenship  (Richman  and 
Wallach) ;  Baker  and  Carpenter's  Fourth ;  Stories  of 
American  Pioneers;  Nature  Study  Made  Easy; 
Longman's  Geographical  Reader;  Stepping  Stones, 
IV;  Graded  Literature,  IV;  Maury's  Geography; 
Straubenmiiller's  Home  Geography;  Little  Lame 
Prince ;  Dickens's  Christmas  Carol ;  Robinson  Cru- 
soe; Spyri's  Heidi;  Brumbaugh's  Fourth;  Dodge's 
Elementary  Geography. 

Fifth  Year 

Four  New  York  Boys ;  Graded  Literature,  V ; 
Black    Beauty;    Brumbaugh's    Fifth;     Geography 


176    THE   PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACHINCJ   READING 

Primer  (Cornman  and  Gcrson) ;  Heath's  Fifth ;  Cyr's 
Fifth ;  Geography  of  New  York  (Smith  and  Perry) ; 
Chann'ng's  First  Lessons  in  United  States  History; 
Baker  and  Carpenter's  Fifth ;  Barnes's  Elementary 
History ;  Kingsley's  Greek  Heroes ;  Shaw's  Discov- 
erers and  Explorers;  King  of  the  Golden  River; 
Stepping  Stones,  V. 

Sixth  Year 

Heath's  Sixth;  Carpenter's  South  America;  Gulick's 
Town  and  City;  Graded  Literature,  V  and  VI; 
Dodge's  Geography,  IV;  Jones's  Sixth;  Builders  of 
Our  Country;  How  to  keep  Well;  Baker  and  Car- 
penter's Sixth;  Frye's  Complete  Geography;  Tarr 
and  McMurry's  Europe ;  Stoddard's  Lectures ;  Poems 
of  American  Bravery  (Mathews) ;  Blaisdell's  Hero 
Stories  from  American  History;  Jewett's  Town  and 
City ;  Tarr  and  McMurry's  Geography,  H ;  Eggles- 
ton's  First  Book  in  American  History;  Tanglewood 
Tales ;  Hawthorne's  Wonder  Book ;  The  Man  With- 
out a  Country ;  Grandfather's  Chair. 

Seventh  Year 

Courtship  of  Miles  Standish;  Snow  Bound; 
Lrving's  Sketch   Book;   Evangeline;   Rolfe's  Tales 


A  QUANTITATIVE   STUDY  OF  READING       177 

from  English  History ;  Franklin's  Autobiography ; 
Great  Stone  Face;  Tales  of  the  White  Hills;  Bur- 
roughs's  Birds  and  Bees ;  Lessons  in  Hygiene ;  Birds 
and  Bees  and  Sharp  Eyes. 

Eighth  Year 

Lady  of  the  Lake ;  Julius  Caesar ;  Sohrab  and  Rus- 
tum;  Gettysburg  Address;  Epoch-making  Papers; 
Merchant  of  Venice;  Lamb's  Tales  from  Shake- 
speare; Washington's  Farewell  Address;  Lincoln's 
Second  Inaugural ;  Warner's  A-Hunting  of  the  Deer ; 
Adams's  Commercial  Geography ;  Tarr's  New  Physi- 
cal Geography ;  Webster's  Reply  to  Hayne. 

5.  Reading  to  Pupils. — The  New  York  syllabus 
requires  the  teacher  to  read  to  the  pupil  during  the 
first  four  years  of  the  course.  The  subjects  and  books 
to  be  used  for  this  purpose  are  suggested,  and  the  four 
aims  to  be  kept  in  view  are  enumerated  as  follows : 
"  (i)  To  develop  an  interest  in  reading,  (2)  to  culti- 
vate the  imagination,  (3)  to  present  a  model  of  ex- 
pression, and  (4)  to  create  ideals  of  right  living." 
While  the  requirements  of  the  course  limit  such  work 
to  the  first  four  grades,  this  investigation  shows  that 
the  schools  of  one  district  voluntarily  continue  the 
same  through  all  the  remaining  grades.    The  follow- 


17S    THE  PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACHING   READING 

ing  table  exhibits  the  average  amount  read  to  children 
in  each  of  the  eight  years :  — 

Amount  read  to  Children 

(Unit  =  1000  words) 
Grade     ...       i       2345678       Total 
Amount      .     .      42     62     64     70    68     51     34     16  407 

The  books  from  which  this  reading  is  done  are  very 
numerous.  We  give  a  partial  list  selected  from  the 
returns :  — 

First  Year 

Stories  to  tell  Children ;  Pets  and  Companions; 
Legends  of  the  Red  Children  (Pratt) ;  Boston  Col- 
lection of  Kindergarten  Stories ;  Rhymes  and  Fables 
(Haaren) ;  Grimms'  Fairy  Tales ;  Tale  of  Peter 
Rabbit;  Three  Bears;  Child's  Garden  of  Verse; 
R.  L.  Stevenson  Reader;  In  the  Child's  World 
(Poulson) ;  Andersen's  Fairy  Tales ;  ^Esop's  Fables ; 
Mother  Goose  Rhymes;  Nursery  Stories  and 
Rhymes  (Potilson). 

Second  Year 

Grimms'  Fairy  Tales ;  Book  of  Fables ;  Health 
of  Little  Folks ;  Scudder's  Fables  and  Folk  Stories ; 
Month   by   Month    (Willis   and   Farmer) ;  All   the 


A  QUANTITATIVE   STUDY  OF  READING        179 

Year  Round ;  Five  Minute  Stories  (Richards) ; 
Child  Life,  II;  Parts  of  Children's  Library  Books; 
Stories  to  tell  to  Children ;  Andersen's  Fairy  Tales ; 
Stevenson's  Poems;  Famous  Stories  Every  Child 
Should  Know. 

Third  Year 

Black  Beauty ;  Beautiful  Joe ;  Young  Folks'  Fairy 
Stories ;  Hiawatha ;  How  to  tell  Stories  to  Children ; 
Fifty  Famous  Stories;  Robinson  Crusoe;  Blue 
Fairy  Book;  Poems  of  Longfellow  and  Whittier; 
Little  Lame  Prince ;  Stories  of  Long  Ago  (Kupfer) ; 
Shy  Neighbors ;  Granny's  Wonderful  Chair  (Browne) ; 
Our  Birds  and  their  Nestlings. 

Fourth  Year 

Glimpses  at  the  Plant  World;  The  Wild  World; 
Little  Lord  Fauntleroy ;  King  of  the  Golden  River ; 
Boys  of  Other  Countries;  The  Wonder  Book; 
Alice  in  Wonderland;  Arabian  Nights;  Joyous 
Story  of  Toto ;  The  Dog  of  Flanders  (Ouida) ;  The 
Story  of  the  Romans;  Poems  from  Holmes;  A 
Home  Geography  of  New  York  City;  Jungle 
Book. 


I  So     TIIE  PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACHING   READING 

Fifth  Year 

Robinson  Crusoe;  Blaisdell's  Story  of  American 

History;  The    True    Story    of    Abraham    Lincoln; 

Longfellow  Leaflets;  Heroes  of  American  History; 

Captain  Januar>' ;      Good   Citizenship   (Richman) ; 

The  Story  of  Patsy ;  Swiss  Family  Robinson ;  Dole's 

The    Young    Citizen ;  Discoverers    and    Explorers 

(Shaw) ;    Hoosier   Schoolboy ;    Stories  from   Mark 

Twain;    Nature     Study     Made     Easy;    Horatius 

(Macaulay) ;     Ulman's  Landmark  History  of  New 

York. 

Sixth  Year 

Carpenter's    Geographical    Reader;       Tarr    and 

McMurry's  Geography ;    Gordy's  History  of  United 

States ;  McMaster's  School  History  of  United  States ; 

News  Items  brought  by  Children ;  Ethics  of  Success 

(Thayer,   Bk.    II) ;    Man   Without   a    Country ;  A 

Girl  of  '76. 

Seventh  Year 

Legend  of  Sleepy  Hollow;  Story  of  Acadia; 
Chronicles  of  Tarrytown,  etc.  (Bacon) ;  Literary 
Pilgrimages  in  New  England;  Dickens's  Child's 
History  of  England;  Rolfe's  Tales  from  English 
History;  Carpenter's  North  America;  Mowry's 
EngUsh  History. 


A  QUANTITATIVE  STUDY  OF  READING        i8i 

Eighth  Year 

Shakespeare;  Literary  Pilgrimages  in  England 
(Bacon) ;  Plutarch's  Lives ;  Literary  Digest ;  Cur- 
rent Events;  Poems  of  American  Patriotism 
(Mathews) ;  Open  Sesame,  II,  III ;  David  Harum ; 
Rebecca  of  Sunnybrook  Farm;  Leak  in  the  Dike; 
Fiske's  American  Revolution. 

6.  Relation  of  Quantity,  Quality,  and  Time.  — 
During  the  school  year  ending  June,  1910,  the  writer 
made  a  personal  examination  of  the  reading  ability 
of  more  than  15,000  children,  registered  in  t,2)3  classes. 
He  is  therefore  able  to  compare  reading  efficiency 
with  the  time  devoted  to  reading.  The  results  were 
recorded  in  each  class  at  the  time  of  the  visit  and 
were  afterwards  summarized  by  schools.  The  suc- 
cess of  the  reading  was  indicated  by  letters,  as 
follows:  A,  B  +  ,  B,  represent  satisfactory  work, 
A  being  the  highest  grade;  C  and  D  represent  un- 
satisfactory work.  In  the  table  which  follows  are 
shown  in  close  juxtaposition  the  number  of  the  school 
(fictitious),  the  amount  read  in  eight  years,  the  aver- 
age time  allowance  per  grade,  and  my  estimate  of 
the  reading  of  the  school.     Only  eighteen    of  the 


iS--     THE   rRIXCIPLES  OF  TEACHING   READING 

twenty- three  schools  are  included  in  this  comparison 
because  l"i\-e  of  the  number  lack  one  or  more  of  the 
upper  grades. 

Comparison  of  Time,  Quantity,  and  Quality 

School     .    .  123       4  56       7 

Amount  .     .  1017  830  7S1  1146  1269  653     729 

Time  .     .     .  248  232  240    244  235  240     233 

Proficiency.  B     B+ B+    C  B-fB+B  + 

{Conlinued) 
School     .     .       10     II     12       13       14     15       16 
Amount  .     .     98S  813  948  1784    917  923  1147  1270 
Time  .     .     .     331  233  281     252     251  252     248 
Proficiency  .      B    B+  B+  B+    B+  B+  B  + 

So  far  as  time  and  efficiency  are  concerned,  this 
table  demonstrates  once  more  the  well-known  prin- 
ciple that  educational  success  is  due  far  more  to 
masterful  administration  than  to  the  individual  abil- 
ity of  teachers.  The  four  schools  marked  B  employ 
on  an  average  255  minutes  for  reading,  the  twelve 
schools  rated  B+  use  only  252  minutes,  while  the  C 
school  has  244  minutes.  It  will  be  recalled  that  Dr. 
Rice  in  his  spelling  investigations  discovered  similar 
conditions.  The  school  that  had  only  sLx  minutes  a 
day  could  spell  quite  as  well  as  another  that  had 
fifty  minutes.     Expert  supervision  is  the  dominating 


8 

9 

978 

956 

?>2>(^ 

206 

B  + 

B 

17 

18 

270 

816 

236 

236 

B 

B-f- 

A  QUANTITATIVE  STUDY  OF   READING        183 

factor  of  the  educational  situation.  In  a  well-super- 
vised school  the  children  are  proficient  in  their 
studies;  in  a  poorly  supervised  school  they  are  de- 
ficient. This  proposition  has  no  exceptions,  and 
holds,  within  limits,  irrespective  of  the  time  that 
may  be  devoted  by  the  course  of  study  to  any  given 
subject. 

A  comparison  of  quantity  and  quality  seems  to 
indicate  that  fluency  in  reading  varies  indirectly  as 
the  amount  read.  The  B  +  schools  read  on  an  aver- 
age 968  units  in  eight  years.  The  B  schools  read 
1057  units.  The  C  school  reads  1146  units.  This 
indicates  that  when  too  much  is  attempted  the  qual- 
ity deteriorates.  If  you  test  the  children  of  a  class 
that  has  read  an  abnormally  large  amount,  you 
generally  find  them  deficient.  They  do  not  know 
the  meaning  of  words,  and  therefore  read  without  flu- 
ency and  without  proper  expression.  They  confirm 
your  suspicion  that  they  have  not  been  taught  read- 
ing, but  have  been  merely  dragged  over  the  ground. 
Such  work  is  inefficient  and  demoralizing.  In  the 
first  place  it  discourages  children  and  oppresses  them 
with  a  sense  of  failure.  But  the  essential  thing  is 
to  estabHsh  in  the  child  the  habit  of  success,  which 
can  only  be  accomplished  by  giving  him  a  finishable 


iS4    THE  PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACHING   READING 

job.  Lessons  must  be  so  simple  that  they  can  be 
accomplished,  and  so  interesting  that  they  awaken 
enthusiasm,  lu  the  second  place,  going  too  fast 
witli  children  begets  superficial  habits  and  inaccurate 
knowledge.  This  is  one  of  the  sins  laid  at  the  door 
of  the  American  school  by  European  observers.  We 
must  therefore  avoid  the  fault  of  undertaking  too 
much  as  well  as  the  fault  of  doing  too  little.  Ac- 
cording to  this  study,  the  best  results  are  obtained 
by  schools  which  read  in  the  several  grades  the 
amount  indicated  in  the  following  table :  — 

Average  Amount  read  by  the  Best  Schools 

(Unit  =  looo  words) 
Grade     ...        12345678       Total 
Amount      .     .      29     62  120  200  200  168     90  107  976 

7.  Dramatization.  —  The  possibilities  of  dramatiza- 
tion have  only  recently  been  reahzed  to  any  consider- 
able extent  by  the  elementary  school.  The  main 
purpose  of  the  exercise  is  to  put  meaning  into  words. 
Meaning  consists  of  thought  and  feeling.  The 
theatre  is  a  very  potent  factor  in  human  society. 
From  the  dramatic  dance  of  the  savage  to  the 
Shakespearean  play  we  have  an  illustration  of  how 
man  tries  to  realize  and  express  the  infinite  variety 


A  QUANTITATIVE  STUDY  OF  READING        185 

of  human  emotion,  and  the  evolution  of  motive  into 
action.  The  child's  play  is  a  "continuous  perform- 
ance" in  the  theatrical  sense.  With  such  an  in- 
stinct in  possession  of  the  infant  soul,  why  should  the 
school  longer  neglect  to  employ  so  useful  an  agent  in 
the  service  of  education  ? 

Particularly  useful  is  dramatization  in  a  cosmo- 
politan city  like  New  York,  where  the  schools  are 
crowded  with  foreigners  and  the  children  of  foreign- 
ers. My  own  district  is  not  known  as  a  community 
of  foreigners;  yet  ten  per  cent  of  our  children  are 
Italians,  and  possibly  twenty-five  per  cent  are  He- 
brews of  foreign  parentage.  The  spoken  and  written 
symbols  that  are  thrust  upon  children  in  such  pro- 
fusion have  in  many  cases  little  or  no  content.  The 
teacher  vainly  imagines  that  words  "mean  what 
they  say."  This  is  never  the  case.  Her  words 
carry  her  mature  experience.  The  books  children 
read  convey  meaning  packed  into  them  by  an  adult 
writer.  To  the  child,  especially  the  child  from  a 
foreign  or  uncultured  home,  words  have  often  but 
little  significance.  Convince  yourself  of  this  by 
asking  a  pupil  to  explain  the  meaning  of  words  found 
in  his  books.  One  was  asked  to  tell  what  were  the 
"  Oxford  Provisions."     He  replied  :  "  Salt,  beef,  ham, 


1 86    Tilt:   PRINCIPLKS  OF   TEACHING   READING 

bacon."  Another  was  told  to  c.\i)lain  what  a  city 
of  refuge  was  for.  He  said  :  "  W'iicn  a  man  had  been 
murdered  accidentally,  he  might  jump  up  and  run 
ti)  it."  I  picked  out  eight  words  at  random  from  a 
page  of  Longfellow's  "Miles  Standish"  which  a  class 
had  read,  and  asked  for  their  meaning.  About  one 
pupil  in  ten  could  answer. 

When  children  "act  out"  a  stor}%  the  words  give 
up  their  real  meaning.  This  is  true  whether  the  sub- 
ject be  a  nursery  rhyme,  a  fairy  tale,  a  play,  or  an 
episode  in  histo^>^  I  have  been  encouraging  dra- 
matic exercises  in  my  district  for  some  time ;  but  these 
returns  show  a  far  more  extensive  use  of  them  than  I 
had  suspected.  Considerably  more  than  half  of  all 
the  classes  have  had  dramatization.  In  one  school, 
out  of  forty-seven  teachers  reporting,  all  but  three 
have  dramatized.  Below  vAW  be  found  a  selection  of 
some  of  the  pieces  in  each  grade  that  have  been 
dramatized  in  these  schools.  The  report  does  not 
include  the  dramatic  reading  that  is  insisted  on  in  the 
regular  reading  hour,  nor  does  it  include  dramatic 
reading  done  by  teacher  or  children  in  reading  to  the 
class. 

There  is  one  serious  danger  against  which  a  note  of 
warning  should  be  issued.     The  tendency  in  school 


A  QUANTITATIVE   STUDY  OF  READING       187 

dramatics  is  to  become  theatrical ;  to  put  the  empha- 
sis on  showy  effects;  to  dress  children  up  in  fancy 
costumes ;  to  exhibit  them  before  the  public.  School 
work  of  any  kind  degenerates  and  loses  its  educational 
value  as  soon  as  it  is  used  primarily  for  show  purposes. 
This  is  true  of  dramatics  no  less  than  of  other  exer- 
cises. Therefore,  keep  the  work  simple.  Confine  it 
chiefly  to  the  class  room ;  and  remember  that  its 
primary  purpose  is  to  make  vivid  the  meaning  of 
what  is  read. 

From  the  reports  submitted,  the  following  selec- 
tion of  pieces  dramatized  in  the  several  grades  is 
made. 

First  Grade 

The  Wind  and  the  Sun ;  The  Fox  and  the  Grapes ; 
The  Three  Goats ;  Little  Boy  Blue ;  The  Three  Bears ; 
The  Three  Little  Pigs ;  The  Straw,  the  Coal,  and  the 
Bean ;  The  Butterfly ;  The  Organ  Grinder ;  The  Hare 
and  the  Tortoise;  The  Dog  and  his  Shadow;  The 
Lion  and  the  Mouse;  The  Thrifty  Squirrels;  Little 
Jack  Horner;  Henny  Penny;  Puss  in  Boots;  The 
Dove  and  the  Bee;  Five  Little  Chickadees;  Jonni- 
cake ;  Old  Mother  Hubbard ;  Lambikin ;  Jack  and 
Jill ;  Simple  Simon ;  Tom  Thumb ;  The  Beehive. 


1 88     TIIE  PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACHING   READING 

Second  Grade 

The  Wolf  and  the  Seven  Kids ;  Chicken  Little ; 
Jack  and  the  Beanstalk ;  The  Little  Red  Hen ;  Billy 
Binks;  How  Mrs.  White  Hen  Helped  Rose;  Little 
Shepherdess ;  Drowning  of  Mr.  Leghorn ;  Starving  of 
Mrs.  Leghorn;  Little  Red  Riding  Hood;  Sleeping 
Apple ;  Three  Billy  Goats  Gruff ;  The  Owl  and  the 
Grasshopper;  The  Pied  Piper;  The  Elves  and  the 
Shoemaker ;  The  Boy  who  cried  Wolf ;  The  Pigs  and 
the  Giant ;  Little  Gingerbread  Boy ;  Sleeping  Beauty ; 
The  Little  Pine  Tree;  Washington  and  the  Cherry 
Tree ;  The  Brahmin,  the  Tiger,  and  the  Jackal ;  Han- 
sel and  Gretel;  Clytie;  Little  Match  Girl. 

Third  Grade 

Pinocchio ;  The  Magic  Swan ;  Hiawatha ;  The  Crow 
and  the  Pitcher ;  A' Visit  from  the  Months ;  What  Mrs. 
Squirrel  Thinks;  The  Ant  and  the  Mouse;  How  to 
get  Breakfast ;  The  Spider  and  the  Fly ;  Two  Little 
Kittens;  The  Blind  Man  and  the  Lame  Man;  The 
Town  Musicians;  The  Golden  Touch;  Cinderella; 
Tillie's  Christmas;  The  Captain's  Daughter;  Pan- 
dora's Box ;  The  Leak  in  the  Dike ;  William  Tell ; 
The  First  Woodpecker ;  The  Frog  and  the  Ox ;  How 


A  QUANTITATIVE  STUDY  OF  READING        189 

the  World  came  to  an  End ;  The  Fisherman  and  His 
Wife. 

Fourth  Grade 

The  Honest  Woodman ;  The  Town  Mouse  and  the 
Country  Mouse ;  The  Miller  of  the  Dee ;  The  Bell  of 
Atri ;  Rip  Van  Winkle ;  The  Book  of  Thanks ;  Supper 
at  the  MiU ;  The  Boy  Who  Tried ;  The  Brave  Drum- 
mer Boy ;  How  Andy  saved  the  Train ;  The  Emperor 
and  the  Abbot ;  The  Stolen  Child ;  The  Cat  and  the 
Mouse  as  Partners;  How  Jack  O'Lantern  Fright- 
ened away  the  Indian;  The  Coming  of  Hudson; 
Settlement  of  Manhattan;  Daniel  Webster's  First 
Case ;  The  Story  of  Joseph ;  How  I  turned  the  Grind- 
stone. 

Fifth  Grade 

The  Fox  and  the  Horse ;  Christian  and  Apollyon ; 
Christmas  at  the  Cratchits;  The  Buying  of  Man- 
hattan ;  Selection  from  As  You  Like  It ;  Selection 
from  A  Midsummer-Night's  Dream;  Columbus; 
The  Jackal  and  the  Partridge;  How  the  Thrushes 
crossed  the  Sea;  Surrender  of  New  Amsterdam; 
Saving  of  John  Smith's  Life  by  Pocahontas ;  Salem 
Witchcraft ;  The  Pilgrims ;  The  Snake  Skin  and  the 
Bullets;  Braddock's  Defeat. 


190     THE   PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACHING   READING 

Sixlli  Grade 

King  of  the  Golden  River;  Moses  at  the  Fair; 
Departure  of  the  Clermont;  Horatius  at  the  Bridge; 
Arnold  the  Traitor ;  The  IMiraculous  Pitcher ;  Betsy 
Ross ;  Nathan  Hale ;  Boston  Massacre  ;  John  Brown; 
Barbara  Frietchie. 

Seventh  Grade 
Christmas  Carol ;  Courtship  of  Miles  Standish. 

Eighth  Grade 

JuHus  Caesar;  Merchant  of  Venice;  Evangeline; 
The  Bird's  Christmas  Carol ;  Lady  of  the  Lake. 


LOS  ANGELES 
STATE  NORMAL  SCHOOL 


CHAPTER  VII 
A   READING   TEST 

The  test  is  an  indispensable  part  of  teaching. 
Any  effort  or  device  which  attempts  to  ascertain 
whether  a  pupil  has  done  his  work,  or  how  well  he  has 
done  it,  is  a  test.  It  may  be  formal  or  informal.  It 
may  be  a  part  of  the  recitation,  or  distinct  from  it. 
It  may  be  applied  by  the  teacher,  the  principal,  or 
the  superintendent.  However,  and  whenever,  and 
by  whomsoever  used,  the  test  is  necessary  if  standard 
and  proficiency  are  to  be  secured  and  maintained. 
That  modern  doctrine  of  education  which  puts  all 
the  emphasis  upon  "process"  and  "effort"  and 
''interest"  and  "good  intentions"  to  the  neglect  of 
results  is  vicious  and  false  and  the  bane  of  the  pro- 
fession. 

Granted  that  reading  should  be  tested,  how  is  it  to 
be  done?  Manifestly  we  shall  have  to  divide  the 
problem  into  several  parts  and  consider  each  sepa- 
rately. We  have  already  discussed  reading  as  a  me- 
chanical process  and   reading    as   literature.     The 

191 


192    TIIE  PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACHING  READING 

different  standards  to  be  applied  to  these  two  j^hases 
have  also  been  explained  under  the  head  of  "class 
criticism. "     (See  page  154.) 

1.  Analysis  of  tJic  Problem.  —  In  New  York  City 
the  board  of  superintendents  requires  principals  to 
rate  the  reading  efficiency  of  pupils  who  are  about  to 
graduate  from  an  elementary  school  under  the  follow- 
ing items :  — 

(i)  Amount  of  literature  read  in  class  during  the 
year  now  closing. 

(2)  Power  to  interpret  the  matter  so  read. 

(3)  Ability  to  read    aloud  accurately  and   intelli- 

gently new  reading  matter. 

(4)  Power  to  give  understandingly  the  substance  of 

a  paragraph  after  a  single  reading. 

(5)  Skill  in  the  use  of  a  dictionary. 

(i)  Amount.  — This  heading  calls  for  the  quanti- 
tative measurement  of  reading  as  discussed  in  Chap- 
ter VI. 

In  the  high  school  tests  of  the  Regents  in  New 
York  and  in  college  entrance  tests,  quantity  is  an 
important  part  of  the  examination.  The  student 
must  read  a  certain  number  of  specified  books  and 
show  that  he  has  mastered  their  contents.  The 
reason  for  these  demands  is  that  reading  is  treated 


A  READING  TEST  193 

chiefly  as  literature  and  only  incidentally  as  a  mode 
of  expression.  In  secondary  and  higher  institutions 
"elocution"  is  under  the  ban,  and  thought  content  is 
practically  all  there  is  of  reading. 

(2)  Interpretation.  —  Here  is  the  first  attempt  to 
measure  the  power  of  the  pupil.  Again  the  demand 
is  concerned  with  content.  "Interpret"  may,  how- 
ever, be  taken  to  mean  intelligent  vocal  rendition. 
Sometimes  the  best  interpretation  of  a  poem  or  other 
literary  masterpiece  is  adequate  oral  expression. 
But  interpretation  includes  also  explanation  of  words 
and  phrases,  of  figures  and  allusions.  A  pupil  must 
be  reasonably  proficient  in  this  phase  of  reading  be- 
fore he  can  be  regarded  satisfactory. 

(3)  Reading  Aloud.  —  I  wonder  whether  there  is 
enough  oral  reading  in  the  schools  of  all  grades. 
Young  people  sing,  and  play  on  musical  instruments 
of  various  kinds,  and  dance,  and  play  cards ;  but  how 
many  are  able  to  entertain  a  company  by  an  accept- 
able reading  or  recitation?  Elsewhere  in  this  vol- 
ume reasons  are  given  why  silent  reading  alone  is 
insufficient  to  bring  out  all  there  is  of  meaning, 
especially  meaning  which  consists  of  feeling.  There- 
fore a  reading  test,  to  be  adequate,  must  require  vocal 
utterance.      Only  in  this  way  may  we  know  the 


194       THE   rKLNLirLES  OF   TEACH1N(;    READING 

quality  of  voice,  the  accuracy  and  effectiveness  of 
pronunciation  and  enunciation.  Only  thus  shall  we 
discover  errors  due  to  bad  habits  and  inherited  de- 
fects of  speech. 

The  requirement  of  the  board  of  superintendents 
not  only  calls  for  reading  aloud,  but  specifies  that  the 
test  shall  be  on  new  matter.  In  this  way  we  deter- 
mine the  pupil's  power.  We  learn  something  of  his 
skill  in  pronunciation,  of  the  extent  of  his  vocabulary, 
and  of  the  extent  to  which  reading  has  become  an 
efficient  instrument  for  the  acquisition  of  knowledge 
and  pleasure. 

(4)  The  Abstract.  —  The  next  part  of  the  test  calls 
for  the  substance  of  a  paragraph  in  the  language  of 
the  pupil  after  a  single  reading.  Here  we  have  an 
entirely  new  point  of  view.  The  pupil  no  longer  deals 
with  individual  words  and  sentences,  but  goes  on  to 
a  larger  unity,  which  he  is  obliged  to  grasp  at  a  glance, 
and  to  express  in  condensed  form.  The  making  of 
abstracts  is  the  very  essence  of  what  we  call  "study.  " 
It  is  therefore  exceedingly  valuable.  It  is  a  sure  cure 
for  the  abominable  habit  of  memorizing  the  words 
of  texts  in  history,  geography,  and  other  lessons. 
Pupils  in  all  grades  should  be  frequently  required  to 
make  oral  abstracts  of  reading  matter,  —  not  merely 


A  READING   TEST 


195 


of  paragraphs,  but  of  entire  lessons.  I  sometimes  ask 
a  pupil  in  the  upper  grammar  grades  to  give  me  the 
story  of  Evangeline,  of  Julius  Caesar,  or  some  other 
literary  work  in  ten  sentences.  After  the  fourth 
year  these  abstracts  should  be  written  and  may  be 
assigned  as  home-work.  Great  pains  should  be 
taken  to  have  the  exercises  abstracts  rather  than 
extracts.  They  should  be  brief.  They  should  be 
carefully  scrutinized  by  the  teacher.  In  this  way  we 
shall  have  a  guarantee  that  the  pupil  has  studied 
his  lesson;  for  it  is  impossible  to  write  a  good  ab- 
stract without  stud3dng  with  care  what  is  to  be 
reduced  in  bulk. 

(5)  The  Dictionary  Habit.  —  A  part  of  the  equip- 
ment to  which  every  pupil  above  the  fourth  grade  is 
entitled  is  a  habit  of  going  to  the  dictionary  when  a 
doubt  arises  as  to  the  meaning  or  pronunciation  of  a 
word.  Hence  skill  in  the  use  of  the  dictionary  is  a 
proper  subject  of  inquiry  in  a  reading  test. 

2.  A  High  Standard.  —  Only  the  best  reading  is 
good  enough  for  promotion ;  therefore  a  high  stand- 
ard of  proficiency  will  be  necessary.  The  writer 
has  adopted  in  his  district  the  standard  of  ninety  per 
cent  as  a  condition  for  a  satisfactory  rating  of  a  class 
or  school  in  reading.     That  is,  ninety  per  cent  of  all 


196     Till-:   TRINCIPLLS  OF  TEACHING   READING 

the  pupils  examined  must  read  with  ade(iuatc  fluency 
and  expression  the  matter  used  for  the  test. 

Lowell  has  said  of  reading:  "I  should  be  half 
inclined  to  say  that  any  reading  is  better  than  none, 
allaying  the  crudeness  of  the  statement  by  the  Yankee 
proverb,  which  tells  us  that,  though  '  all  deacons  are 
good,  there's  odds  on  deacons.'"  The  truth  of  this 
dictum  we  may  admit,  but  it  does  not  follow  that  w-e 
shall  be  justified  in  promoting  large  numbers  of  chil- 
dren who  are  deficient  in  reading ;  because  if  we  do, 
these  pupils  will  certainly  come  to  grief  sooner  or  later 
in  their  attempt  to  pass  through  the  grades.  Being 
unable  to  read  with  ease,  they  have  difficulty  in 
mastering  their  books,  and  thus  they  become  dis- 
couraged and  drop  out  of  school. 

3.  Every  Pupil  Tested.  —  A  supervisor  who  aims 
to  ascertain  the  efficiency  of  a  class  in  reading  must 
apply  his  test  to  every  pupil.  A  great  deal  of  hum- 
bug is  covered  up  by  the  opposite  procedure.  A  su- 
perintendent may  go  into  a  class  and  ask  the  teacher 
to  show  how  well  the  children  can  read.  She  calls 
upon  John,  and  Mary,  and  Susan,  and  three  or  four 
others,  all  star  pupils,  and  the  superintendent  rubs 
his  hands,  compliments  the  teacher,  and  goes  away 
satisfied  that  reading  is  well  taught  in  that  class.     If 


A  READING  TEST  197 

he  had  insisted  upon  hearing  every  member  of  the 
class,  he  might  have  discovered  that  fifty  per  cent 
could  not  read  at  all  with  any  adequate  degree  of 
success ;  and  perhaps  even  the  star  pupils  who  per- 
formed so  well  were  trained  by  atiother  teacher  or 
school.  Every  pupil  should  know  what  he  is  alleged 
to  have  been  taught.  We  ask  the  teacher  to  name 
the  pages  or  lessons  that  have  been  mastered  by  the 
class.  From  among  the  lessons  thus  indicated,  the 
material  for  the  test  is  taken.  If  the  failures  are 
more  than  ten  per  cent,  the  class  is  deficient  in 
reading. 

Such  a  test  brings  home  to  a  teacher  two  things  she 
must  never  forget ;  namely,  first,  that  she  is  respon- 
sible for  the  progress  of  every  pupil  in  her  class ;  and, 
secondly,  that  she  must  drill  and  drill  and  drill  until 
what  she  has  taught  is  a  real  and  permanent  posses- 
sion of  the  pupil. 

4.  Relative  Value  of  Reading.  —  English  and  num- 
ber are  admittedly  the  most  important  subjects  in 
the  elementary  curriculum.  If  a  pupil  be  deficient 
in  these  two,  he  should  not  be  promoted ;  for  he  will 
be  unable  to  do  the  work  of  the  next  grade.  Read- 
ing is  an  important  part  of  English.  How  much 
should  it  count  in  a  scheme  of  promotion  by  points  ? 


iqS   the  principles  of  teaching  reading 

On  the  basis  of  a  hundred,  I  would  put  the  following 
valuation  on  mere  ability  to  read  with  fluency  and 
intelligence,  leaving  out  of  consideration  spelling, 
memorizing,  grammar,  and  composition :  first  year, 
20  points ;  second  to  sixth  years  inclusive,  10  points ; 
seventh  and  eighth  years,  5  points. 

The  total  value  of  English  (including  penmanship) 
in  the  elementary  school  for  promotion  purposes  I 
should  put  at  45  points  in  all  grades. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
THE   HYGIENE   OF   READING 

I.  Sufficient  Light.  —  The  first  requisite  for  reading 
with  ease  and  comfort  is  a  sufficient  amount  of-  light 
from  the  right  source.  Authorities  on  school  hy- 
giene unite  in  demanding  that  the  amount  of  trans- 
parent glass  surface  admitting  light  shall  be  from 
one-fifth  to  one-fourth  of  the  floor  surface  of  the  room. 
A  standard  schoolroom,  30  X  25  ft.,  should  therefore 
contain  not  less  than  150  sq.  ft.  of  lighting  surface. 
This  should  furnish  to  the  pupil  seated  in  the  most 
unfavorable  situation  an  illumination  of  at  least 
fifty  candle  metres  (that  is,  the  light  of  fifty  standard 
candles  at  a  distance  of  one  metre).  Various  devices 
may  have  to  be  resorted  to  in  order  to  secure  the 
proper  diffusion  of  light,  such  as  factory  ribbed  glass, 
Luxfer  prisms,  shades,  etc.  The  source  of  light  should 
be  from  the  left,  or  left  and  rear.  In  spite  of  the  dicta 
of  the  doctors,  there  are  still  many  ill-lighted  school- 
rooms. Intelligent  teachers  can  do  much  to  remedy 
these  conditions  by  bringing  them  to  the  attention 
of    responsible    authorities.     In    most    cases    these 

199 


200    THE   PRINCIPLES  OF   TEAC IIINC   READING 

unhygienic  rooms  arc  in  old  buildings  inherited  by 
tlic  present  administration  from  a  preceding  genera- 
tion. Unless  some  one  lodges  a  complaint,  serious 
defects  may  continue  indefuiitely. 

But  if  schools  fail  in  their  duty  in  such  things, 
what  shall  we  say  of  the  average  home,  where  the 
pupil  does  his  reading  and  studying  ?  Many  parents 
are  ignorant  of  the  laws  of  hygiene,  and  others  who 
know  better  are  careless.  And  hence  children  are 
allowed  to  sit  in  dark  corners  to  read  and  write  and 
are  never  definitely  instructed  as  to  the  proper  direc- 
tion for  the  source  of  light.  Recently  the  writer 
visited  the  home  of  a  boy  who  attends  one  of  the  pub- 
lic high  schools.  The  lad's  desk  is  so  situated  that 
the  gaslight  falls  over  his  right  shoulder.  In  this 
unhygienic  situation  the  boy  has  prepared  all  his 
home  lessons  since  the  day  he  was  admitted  to  the 
primary  school.  A  suggestion  from  a  thoughtful 
teacher  would  have  taught  him  early  to  change  the 
position  of  his  desk. 

A  day  or  two  ago  a  girl  was  observed  in  an  elevated 
train  on  her  way  home  from  school.  The  car  was 
crowded  and  poorly  lighted.  But  the  girl  was  doubled 
over,  intent  upon  her  home-work.  Although  she 
could  scarcely  see  the  figures  she  was  writing,  she 


THE  HYGIENE  OF  READING  201 

never  took  her  eyes  off  the  paper  for  an  instant  dur- 
ing the  entire  journey  from  Sixty-Seventh  Street  to 
Tremont.  A  girl  old  enough  to  attend  the  Normal 
College  ought  to  have  better  instruction  in  personal 
hygiene. 

A  contemplation  of  home  conditions  in  the  poor 
quarters  of  a  city  should  warn  teachers  against  the 
imposition  of  an  unreasonable  amount  of  home-work. 
In  thousands  of  families  the  entire  household  occupies 
a  single  living-room,  which  may  also  be  the  kitchen 
and  bedroom.  I  know  of  a  case  where  a  family  of 
thirteen  persons  and  four  live  chickens  lived  in  one 
room.  What  chance  has  a  child  amid  such  surround- 
ings to  do  home-work  requiring  close  attention  ?  To 
ameliorate  the  circumstances  of  such  unfortunate 
children,  study-rooms  have  been  opened  in  some  of 
our  evening  recreation  centres,  where  children  may 
do  their  home-work  in  comfort  under  the  supervision 
of  a  teacher.  Strange  things  are  sometimes  accident- 
ally discovered  in  study-rooms.  One  child  was  found 
recently  whose  home-work  consisted  of  the  writing 
of  the  following  sentence  one  thousand  times:  "I 
must  obey  my  teacher."  School  hygiene  is  in  a 
primitive  state  as  long  as  we  find  teachers  who  are 
guilty  of  such  crimes  against  childhood. 


202    THE   TRINXIPLES  OF   TEACHING    READING 

2.  Titti^c  and  Surface  of  Paper.  —  Black  ink  on 
white  i^ajKT  is  the  most  clTcctivc  combination  for 
reading.  No  other  contrast  is  so  great  as  this.  A 
flat,  unreflecting  surface  is  necessary  for  school  books. 
Glossy  paper  reflects  light  regularly  and  is  therefore 
injurious  to  the  eye.  ;  In  order  to  produce  good  half- 
tone illustrations,  the  publisher  often  uses  calen- 
dered '  paper  for  the  entire  book.  Line  drawings  are 
more  satisfactory  than  half-tones,  because  they  may 
be  printed  on  a  duU  surface ;  but  they  are  more  expen- 
sive because  they  require  the  services  of  an  artist. 
The  use  of  calendered  paper,  therefore,  is  always  in  the 
interest  of  economy  in  printing,  but  not  in  reading. 

The  writing  on  the  school  blackboard  requires 
careful  attention.  After  the  writing  has  been  erased 
with  a  board-rubber,  small  particles  of  chalk  still 
cling  to  the  surface  and  give  it  a  gray  color,  thus 
reducing  the  contrast  upon  w^hich  the  legibility  of  the 
wTiting  depends.  Therefore,  at  least  once  a  day 
blackboards  should  be  washed.  The  writing  should 
be  large  enough  to  be  clearly  visible  from  the  last  row 
of  seats.  The  reflection  of  light  is  usually  such  that 
from  certain  angles  it  is  impossible  to  read  the  writing. 

'  Calender  is  a  machine  consisting  of  two  cylinders  between  which 
paper  is  run  to  give  it  a  smooth,  glossy  surface. 


THE  HYGIENE  OF  READING  203 

In  such  cases  matter  to  be  read  or  copied  should  be 
placed  where  all  the  children  can  see  it,  or  pupils 
should  be  asked  to  change  their  seats.  I  have  exam- 
ined the  eyes  of  a  large  number  of  school  children, 
and  have  found  scores  of  cases  of  defective  vision, 
where  the  defect  was  unsuspected  by  either  the  pupil 
himself  or  by  his  parents  and  teachers.  Many  such 
unfortunates  are  seated  by  careless  teachers  in  the 
rear  of  the  room  where  they  are  unable  to  read  what 
they  are  asked  to  copy,  e.g.,  lists  of  spelling  words, 
problems  in  arithmetic,  and  the  like.  In  this  way 
they  learn  wrong  forms,  or  fail  to  understand  what  is 
explained ;  then  they  fall  behind  in  their  studies,  lose 
interest  in  school,  and  presently  are  known  as  "bad" 
boys  or  girls. 

So  important  is  the  proper  use  of  the  blackboard, 
that  in  the  New  York  Training  Schools  the  student 
receives  special  instruction  and  drill  in  the  matter, 
and  on  the  blank  filled  out  by  principals  for  the 
renewal  of  temporary  licenses,  "skill  in  blackboard 
work"  is  one  of  the  items  reported  on.  The  recent 
introduction  of  arm-movement  writing  in  all  the 
grades  and  schools  of  New  York  has  enormously 
improved  the  blackboard  writing  of  teachers,  and 
has  thus  been  a  great  boon  to  children. 


i04       THi:   rKIXCIPLES  OF  TEACHING   READING 

3.  Illustrations.  —  Anytliing  that  helps  t,o  make 
the  meaning  clear  tends  to  reduce  the  time  and  effort 
required  in  reading.  Illustrations,  therefore,  are  an 
important  phase  of  the  hygiene  of  reading.  School 
readers  of  the  present  leave  Httle  to  be  desired  in  the 
matter  of  pictures.  Their  publishers  spend  vast  sums 
to  secure  artists  of  skill  and  reputation.  The  result 
is  that  the  httle  ones  look  upon  the  best  of  these 
books  with  affectionate  regard.  Such  an  appeal  to 
interest  eliminates  the  drudgery  from  reading  and 
doubles  the  efficiency  of  the  teaching. 

School  histories  are  illuminated  by  portraits  of  the 
principal  actors  in  the  drama,  by  facsimiles  of  im- 
portant documents,  by  literary  sources,  by  diagrams 
and  maps.  All  these  help  to  put  meaning  into  the 
narrative  and  thus  to  reduce  the  labor  required  to 
master  the  content  of  the  book. 

Illustrative  material  in  geography  has  become  very 
valuable.  Text-books  are  filled  with  diagrams,  maps, 
and  pictures  of  landscape  features,  buildings,  and 
people.  The  stereoscope,  museum,  excursion,  and 
picture  Hbrary  aU  help  to  make  the  learning  easy 
and  effective. 

Even  tables  of  contents  and  indexes  are  related  to 
economy  of  reading.    These  give  one  a  bird's-eye 


THE  HYGIENE  OF  READING  205 

view  of  the  contents  of  a  book  and  enable  one  to  turn 
with  a  minimum  of  effort  to  any  desired  portion  of 
the  text.  Not  only  should  every  book  be  provided 
with  one  or  both  of  these  helps,  but  the  teacher  should 
make  it  a  part  of  his  business  to  train  children  in  the 
proper  use  of  them.  Everywhere  and  always  it  is  our 
duty  to  reduce  the  friction  of  the  machine  and  thus 
to  increase  the  available  energy  devoted  to  the  educa- 
tional output. 

4.  Length  of  Line.  —  On  the  proper  length  of  line 
for  rapidity  and  ease  of  reading  there  is  considerable 
variation  among  authorities.  The  reason  for  this  is 
that  the  question  is  one  largely  of  opinion,  no  con- 
clusive experimentation  having  been  made  as  yet. 
Weber  ^  requires  a  maximum  line  of  150  mm.  and  a 
minimum  of  100  mm.  He  recommends  that  school 
books  be  printed  in  lines  of  140-150  mm.,  or  nearly 
six  inches.  Cohn^  thinks  a  line  should  never  be 
more  than  90-110  mm.  (4.3  in.).  Huey^  indorses 
Dearborn's  demand  for  a  line  of  75-80  mm.,  but  gives 

^  A.  Weber,  Ueher  die  Augenuntersuchungen  in  den  hohern  Schulen  zu 
Darmstadt.  Referat  und  Memorial,  erstattet  der  grossherzoge  Ministerial  = 
Abtheilung  fur  Gesundheitspflege.     Marz,  1881. 

^  The  Hygiene  of  the  Eye,  Hermann  Cohn,  Midland  Educational  Co., 
Birmingham,  England,  1886,  p.  206. 

^  The  Psychology  and  Pedagogy  of  Reading,  Edmund  B.  Huey,  The 
Macmillan  Co.,  1908,  p.  412. 


2o6     THE  PRINCIPLES  OF   TEACHINO   READING 

his  own  preference  for  60-  So  mm.  The  news  column 
of  the  New  York  Times  is  57  mm.  wide.  The  columns 
of  the  Outlook  are  Oo  mm.  in  width ;  of  Scrihner's 
Magazine,  the  same;  of  the  Cos7nopolilan,  64  mm.; 
of  McClure's  Magazine,  66  mm. ;  of  the  Atlantic 
Monthly,  59  mm.  The  average  length  of  line  in  cer- 
tain ^vell-kno^^^l  school  readers  extensively  used  in 
New  York  is  as  follows :  — 

Primer  A,  part  i,  32  mm. 

Primer  A,  part  2,  45.5  mm. 

Primer  B,  p.  i,  67.5  mm. 

Primer  B,  p.  38,  63  mm. 

Primer  C,  35-110  mm. 

Primer  D,  30-65  mm. 

The  following  quotation  from  Dearborn  ^  shows 
that  many  factors  in  the  reading  process  are  related 
to  the  length  of  line,  and  that  the  mere  ipse  dixit  of 
an  author  is  not  sufficient  as  a  guide  to  practice :  — 

"The  length  of  the  text-lines  is  mainly  important 
in  its  effect  upon  the  formation  of  motor  habits.  The 
rate  of  reading  depends  in  part  on  the  ease  with  which 
a  regular  rhythmical  movement  is  established.  The 
peculiarities  of  this  movement  are,  as  noted,  two, — 
a  succession  of  the  same  number  of  pauses  per  line, 
and  a  distribution  of  the  duration  of  the  pauses.  .  .  . 

^Op.  ciL,  p.  131. 


THE  HYGIENE  OF  READING  207 

{  Those  lines  are  best  suited  to  rapid  reading  which  give 
opportunity  for  a  wide  span  of  attention,  but  which 
are  not  of  such  length  that  the  peripheral  perceptions 
from  the  end  or  beginning  of  a  line  are  too  inexact 
and  confused  to  be  of  value  in  determining  the  general 
character  of  a  large  part  of  the  lineA  If  the  lines  are 
too  long,  the  incidental  concurrent  impression  of  words 
l3dng  in  the  lines  above  and  below  .  .  .  are  not  in- 
frequently distracting.  .  .  .  Uniformity  of  length 
of  line  is  a  requisite  for  the  formation  of  motor  habits 
of  reaction." 

On  the  score  of  uniformity  of  length,  most  of  the 
primers  in  use  offend.  In  many  cases  the  lines  are 
interrupted  by  illustrations,  so  that  the  little  reader 
is  much  troubled  to  follow  the  devious  path  of  the 
printed  story.  In  Primer  A  the  length  is  exceedingly 
irregular ;  in  Primer  B  the  same  is  the  case ;  in  Primer 
C  the  lines  vary  according  to  the  length  of  the  verses; 
while  Primer  D  has  a  fairly  regular  length  on  any 
given  page,  but  yaries  from  30  to  65  mm.  in  different 
parts  of  the  book. 

The  daily  newspaper,  having  a  column  of  about 
60  mm.,  is  therefore  the  model  for  the  length  of  line 
of  a  school  primer.  The  makers  of  newspapers  have 
adapted  themselves  to  the  reaction  of  their  readers ; 


2o8     THE  PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACHING   READING 

while  the  publishers  of  books,  in  the  interest  of  beauty 
or  their  own  con\enience,  continue  to  disregard  the 
standards  of  hygiene.  Of  the  primers  cited  above, 
A's  lines  are  too  short  by  half ;  B's  are  right ;  C's  are 
too  irregular ;  and  D's  are  too  short  in  the  beginning 
and  just  right  at  the  end. 

5.  Size  of  Type.  —  Huey  ^  quotes  with  approval 
the  following  requirements  set  down  in  Shaw's 
School  Hygiene :  ~  — 

For  the  first  year  the  size  of  tj^DC  should  be  at  least 
2.6  mm.  and  the  wddth  of  leading  4.5  mm.,  as  shown 
in  this  example  :  — 

Who  has  seen  the  Wind  ? 

Neither  I  nor  you. 
But  when  the  leaves  hang  trembHng, 

The  wind  is  passing  through. 

Who  has  seen  the  wind  ? 

Neither  you  nor  I  ; 
But  when  the  trees  bow  down  their 
heads, 

The  wind  is  passing  by. 

1  op.  cit.,  p.  416. 

*  School  Hygiene,  Edward  R.  Shaw,  The  Macmillan  Co.,  1901,  p.  178. 


THE  HYGIENE  OF  READING  209 

For  the  second  and  third  years,  the  letters  should 
not  be  smaller  than  2  mm.,  with  leading  of  4  mm. 
Some  of  the  more  carefully  made  books  for  the  second 
and  third  years  are  printed  in  letters  of  this  size,  as 
shown  in  the  following  example :  — 

Where  the  bee  sucks,  there  suck  I ; 

In  the  cowslip's  bell  I  lie; 

There  I  couch  when  owls  do  cry. 

On  the  bat's  back  I  do  fly 

After  summer  merrily. 

Merrily,  merrily,  shall  I  live  now, 
Under  the    blossom   that  hangs  on  the 
bough ! 

For  the  fourth  year  the  letters  should  be  at  least 
1.8  mm.,  with  leading  3.6  mm.,  as  follows :  — 

Oh,  for  boyhood's  time  of  June, 
Crowding  years  in  one  brief  moon, 
When  all  things  I  heard  or  saw, 
Me,  their  master,  waited  for. 
I  was  rich  in  flowers  and  trees. 
Humming-birds  and  honey-bees; 
For  my  sport  the  squirrel  played, 
Plied  the  snouted  mole  his  spade. 


210     THE  PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACHING   READING 

The  primers  already  cited  in  this  chapter  have  the 
following  sizes  of  type  and  leading :  — 

Size  of  Type  in  Five  Primers 


Type 

Leading 

mm. 

mm. 

Primer  A,  pt.  i  . 
Primer  .\,  pt.  2   . 
Primer  B   .     .     . 

3-5 
2.5 

3 

7 

S-7 

6 

Primer  C  .     .     . 
Primer  D  .     .     . 

3-5 
3 

7-S 

5 

From  this  table  it  appears  that  in  size  of  type  and 
width  of  spacing  these  books  more  than  satisfy  the 
minimum  requirements  of  hygiene.  But  there  are 
many  school  books  in  use  which  fall  short  of  the  stand- 
ards. A  popular  text-book  on  grammar,  for  in- 
stance, prints  most  of  its  reading  matter  in  type  1.5 
mm.  in  height,  with  2.5  mm.  spacing,  while  many 
subordinate  paragraphs  have  i  mm,  letters  and  2 
mm.  spacing.  A  well-kno\vn  book  on  school  hy- 
giene prints  its  index  in  i  mm.  type,  with  1.5  mm. 
spacing.  A  certain  pedagogical  magazine  recently 
started  is  printed  on  calendered  paper  throughout, 
with  1.5  mm.  type  for  the  major  portion  and  i  mm.  t}pe 
for  the  rest.  It  is  evident  that  the  only  way  to  safe- 
guard the  eyes  of  children  is  for  boards  of  education 
to  exclude  from  the  schools  every  book  that  fails  to 


THE  HYGIENE  OF  READING  211 

comply  with  the  standards  of  hygiene.  "  In  future," 
says  Cohn,  "I  would  have  all  school  authorities, 
with  measuring  rule  in  hand,  place  upon  the  Index 
librorum  prohihitorum  all  school  books  which  do  not 
conform  to  the  following  measurements :  The  height 
of  the  smallest  n  must  be  at  least  1.5  mm.,  the  least 
width  between  the  lines  must  be  2.5  mm.,  the  least 
thickness  of  the  n  must  be  .25  mm.,  the  shortest  dis- 
tance between  the  letters  .75  mm.,  the  greatest  length 
of  text-line  100  mm.,  and  the  number  of  letters  on  a 
line  must  not  exceed  60."  ^ 

6.  Eye-strain.  —  An  act  of  vision  is  a  very  compli- 
cated psychological  and  physiological  process.  The 
crystalline  lens  is  an  elastic  body,  and  would,  if  left 
to  itself,  assume  a  shape  more  nearly  spherical  than 
the  one  it  actually  has  in  the  normal  eye.  There  is  a 
muscle  attached  to  the  margin  of  the  lens  called  the 
zonula,  which,  by  contracting,  keeps  the  lens  flattened 
for  seeing  distant  objects.  The  tension  of  the  zonula 
is  diminished  by  the  ciliary  or  accommodation  muscle. 
The  lens,  being  elastic,  assumes  a  more  spherical  form 
whenever  the  ciliary  muscle  contracts,  and  thus  en- 
ables the  eye  to  view  objects  that  are  near.  It  is 
evident,  then,  that  in  reading  and  writing  the  ciliary 
muscle  is  kept  tense  all  the  while ;  consequently,  when 

^Op.  cit.,  p.  206. 


JI  J 


niK    I'RI\(IPLi:S   OF   TKACIIIXC;    READING 


one  engages  in  ihesc  exercises  for  many  consecutive 
hours,  the  muscle  becomes  exhausted  and  we  have  the 
condition  known  as  eye-strain.  This  mechanism  of 
accommodation  is  the  main  source  of  injury  to  the 

youthful  eye.  In 
Fig.  lo,  a  section  of 
the  eye  is  shown 
with  the  lens  accom- 
modated for  near 
vision  in  the  upper 
half  and  for  far 
vision  in  the  lower 
half. 

(i)  Diseases  of  the 
Eye.  —  Rays  of  light 
falling  upon  the  eye 
in  repose,  without  any  exertion  of  the  accom- 
modation muscle,  are  normally  refracted  so  as 
to  be  focussed  exactly  upon  the  retina.  The  eye 
is  then  said  to  be  emmetropic  {emmetros  =  of  the  right 
measure ;  ops  =  the  eye),  tf  the  diameter  of  the  eye 
is  too  short,  so  that  the  rays  are  focussed  behind  the 
retina,  the  case  is  called  hypermetropic  or  hyperopic 
{hyper  =  beyond).  If  the  diameter  of  the  eye  is  too 
long,  so  that  the  rays  are  focussed  in  front  of  the  retina, 


M  NaJiblkk—^fornear  sight'* 
bei  Ftmblick—^'/or /ar  sight." 

Fig.  io. 
From  Cohn's  TIte  Hygiene  of  the  Eye. 


THE  HYGIENE  OF  READING  213 

then  the  patient  is  myopic  (muein  =  to  blink).  Both 
these  diseases  maybe  caused  either  by  defects  of  refrac- 
tion or  defects  in  the  shape  of  the  eye.  There  is  a 
third  disease  due  to  imperfect  refraction  called  astig- 
matism. In  this  case  the  focus  is  on  the  retina,  but 
is  in  the  form  of  a  line  instead  of  a  poinf .  The  most 
important  of  these  troubles,  so  far  as  the  schools  are 
concerned,  is  myopia,  both  because  it  is  a  disease  in- 
duced by  too  close  and  too  long  application  to  school 
work  (possibly  insufficient  light),  and  because  "a 
short-sighted  eye  is  a  diseased  eye ;  .  .  .  progressive 
short  sight  is  in  every  case  ominous  of  evil  for  the 
future ;  .  .  .  and  not  unfrequently  at  the  age  of  50 
or  60,  if  not  much  earlier,  the  power  of  sight,  either 
from  detachment  of  the  retina,  or  from  hemorrhage, 
or  lastly,  from  atrophy  and  degeneration  of  the 
yellow  spot,  is  irretrievably  lost."  ^    ■' 

What  is  meant  by  calling  myopia  a  "school  dis- 
ease" is  shown  by  the  following  table  giving  the  fre- 
quency of  myopia  among  10,060  pupils  in  the  several 
kinds  of  schools  in  which  they  were  registered  :  — 

" 5  \dllage  schools 1.4      percent 

20  elementary  schools 6.7      per  cent 

2  higher  schools  for  girls     .     .     .     7.7      per  cent 

1  Quoted  from  Bonders  by  H.  Cohn,  The  Hygiene  of  the  Eye,  p.  49. 


214     THE  PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACHING   READING 

2  middle  sdiools 10.3       per  cent 

2  real  schools 19.7       per  cent 

2  gymnasia 26.2"*  percent 

(2)  TJic  School  Doctor.  —  In  1908  Gulick  and  Ayres 
reported  70  cities  in  the  United  States  outside  of 
IMassachusetts  in  which  medical  inspection  of  schools 
is  provided.  In  Massachusetts  there  were  at  that 
time  32  cities  and  321  towns  where  such  inspection 
was  in  operation.^  Practically  every  nation  of 
Europe  has  put  into  operation  some  form  of  inspec- 
tion; and  even  Chile  and  the  Argentine  Republic 
have  laws  requiring  physicians  to  visit  the  schools. 
The  Japanese  system  of  medical  inspection  extends  all 
over  the  empire  and  reaches  the  most  remote  rural 
community.  By  reason  of  the  general  adoption  of 
this  beneficent  reform  and  the  great  improvement  in 
school  architecture,  the  teacher  is  relieved  of  some 
of  his  responsibility  in  the  matter  of  school  hygiene. 
In  New  York,  for  instance,  the  doctor  systematically 
examines  at  least  a  portion  of  the  children  in  each 
school  once  a  year ;  and  the  medical  records  are  en- 
tered upon  the  pupil's  card,  which  in  case  of  transfer 
he  carries  from  school  to  school.     When  the  doctor 

'  Cohn,  op.  cit.,  p.  57. 

*  Medical  Inspection  of  Schools,  Gulick  and  Ayres,  N.  Y.  Charities 
Publication  Committee,  1908,  p.  27. 


THE   HYGIENE  OF  READING  215 

discovers  a  defect  of  vision,  the  pupil  receives  an  offi- 
cial notice  to  his  parents ;  and  the  school  nurse  follows 
up  the  case  until  the  child  has  glasses  or  such  other 
treatment  as  may  be  required.  In  spite  of  all  these 
agencies,  however,  one  still  may  see,  in  almost  any 
class,  myopic  children.  So  it  is  necessary  to  keep  on 
urging  teachers,  as  all  works  on  school  hygiene  do 
urge,  to  watch  the  eyes  of  their  children.  Near-sight 
can  easily  be  detected  by  merely  watching  a  child 
while  he  reads  or  writes.  Other  defects  will  be  re- 
vealed by  Snellen's  type  test,  with  which  every  teacher 
should  be  familiar.  As  soon  as  a  difficulty  is  dis- 
covered, the  parents  should  be  notified ;  for  delay  not 
only  may  interfere  with  a  child's  progress,  but  may 
be  dangerous. 

(3)  Home-study.  —  Many  teachers  overestimate 
the  value  of  home-study.  Herbart  said  long  ago, 
"The  teacher  who  assigns  home-work  with  a  view  to 
saving  labor  in  school  miscalculates  utterly ;  his  work 
will  soon  have  become  all  the  harder."  The  princi- 
pal reason  for  home-study,  as  I  see  it,  is  that  the  pupil 
is  trained  thereby  in  self-dependence.  Home-study 
also  teaches  children  the  virtue  of  industry  and  appli- 
cation. A  certain  teacher  known  to  the  writer  as- 
signed twenty-eight  map  questions  from  a  well-known 


.m6     TIIK    PRlN'CMri.KS   OV   TEACHING   READING 

gcograi)hy  (or  a  liomo  lesson.  One  of  tlie  questions 
was,  "What  is  I  lie  most  northern  point  of  the 
European  mainland?"  A  little  girl  in  Ihe  class  was 
puzzled  by  this  question  because  she  had  been  so 
poorh'  instructed  that  she  did  not  know  proximity 
to  the  north  pole  is  determined  partly  by  parallels  of 
latitude  on  the  map.  She  therefore  examined  all 
the  points  near  the  top  of  the  map,  but  could  not 
find  a  name  attached  to  any  of  the  points.  She 
appealed  to  her  mother,  and  learned  for  the  first  time 
that  you  must  follow  lines  of  latitude  in  order  to  an- 
swer the  given  question.  She  then  discovered  her- 
self that  North  Cape  is  the  point  referred  to.  In 
numberless  cases  children  ruin  their  eyes  and  break 
their  little  hearts  in  a  vain  effort  to  study  unreason- 
able home  lessons. 

All  home-work  should  be  forbidden  during  the 
first  three  years  of  school.  Home-work  in  arith- 
metic and  grammar  should  be  forbidden  below  the 
sixth  year.  The  maximum  time  for  home-study 
should  be  as  follows :  fourth  and  fifth  years,  half  an 
hour;  sixth  year,  one  hour;  seventh  and  eighth  years, 
one  and  a  half  hours;  high  school,  two  hours. 

7.  Literary  Style.  —  It  is  evident  that  ease  and 
rapidity  of  reading  are  dependent  to  no  small  degree 


THE  HYGIENE  OF  READING  217 

upon  the  choice  and  arrangement  of  words.  Hence 
the  hygiene  of  reading  is  related  to  literary  style. 
Scientific  writcirs  are  among  the  chief  offenders  in 
creating  needless  difficulties  for  the  reader.  They 
are  so  much  engrossed  by  their  facts  and  theories 
that  they  take  no  time  to  cultivate  the  art  of  expres- 
sion. Dr.  Minot  of  Harvard  does  not  overstate  the 
case  in  the  following  paragraph:  "Do  we  not  all 
know  articles  which  are  bungled  in  form  and  weak- 
ened by  prolixity  ?  Surely  the  heads  of  all  labora- 
tories should  insist  by  example  and  precept  that  all 
the  workers  under  their  influence  write  clearly  and 
briefly  —  for  if  an  author  fails  to  show  respect  for 
his  own  scientific  work,  how  can  he  expect  others  to 
respect  it  ?  .  .  .  Rivarol  in  his  famous  prize  essay 
said,  'ce  que  n'est  pas  clair,  n'est  pas  Frangais' — but 
we  might  say  what  is  not  true,  is  not  English.  By  its 
wealth  of  synonyms  and  its  logical  construction  the 
English  language  is  preeminently  adapted  to  the  exact 
statement  of  scientific  truth. . . .  Good  thinking  is  the 
blastema  of  good  style,  therefore  our  learning  will  never 
appear  good  if  our  learned  articles  are  written  badly."  ^ 

1  Charles  Sedgwick  Minot,  Vice-presidential  Address  delivered  before 
the  Section  of  Physiology  and  Experimental  Medicine  of  the  American 
Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science,  at  Minneapolis,  December 
29,  1910.     Published  in  Science,  191 1. 


2iS     THE   PRINCIPLES   OF   TEACHING   READING 

In  his  essay  on  "The  Philosophy  of  Style,"  Her- 
bert Spencer  lays  d(.)\\n  the  principle  lluit  the  rules 
of  rhetoric  are  merely  so  many  devices  for  "econo- 
mizing the  reader's  or  hearer's  attention."  "When 
\vc  condemn  writing  that  is  wordy,"  he  says,  "or 
confused,  or  intricate  —  when  we  praise  this  style  as 
easy,  and  blame  that  as  fatiguing,  we  consciously  or 
unconsciously  assume  this  desideratum  as  our  stand- 
ard of  judgment.  Regarding  language  as  an  apparatus 
of  symbols  for  the  conveyance  of  thought,  we  may  say 
that,  as  in  a  mechanical  apparatus,  the  more  simple 
and  the  better  arranged  its  parts,  the  greater  will  be 
the  effect  produced.  In  either  case,  whatever  force 
is  absorbed  by  the  machine  is  deducted  from  the 
result.  .  .  .  The  more  time  and  attention  it  takes  to 
receive  and  understand  each  sentence,  the  less  time 
and  attention  can  be  given  to  the  contained  idea ; 
and  the  less  vividly  will  that  idea  be  conceived."  ^ 

A  large  percentage  of  school  books  are  written  in 
an  obscure  or  difficult  style  that  acts  as  a  hindrance 
to  thought  rather  than  an  instrument  of  it.  It  is 
well  known  that  in  the  last  two  years  of  our  elemen- 
tary  school,    children   prefer    Shakespeare    to    any 

^Philosophy  of  Style,  by  Herbert  Spencer,  N.  Y.,  D.  Applelon  & 
Co.,  1895,  p.  II. 


THE  HYGIENE  OF  READING  219 

paraphrase  of  him.  Mathematical  problems  are 
frequently  enigmas  merely  because  the  child  does 
not  comprehend  the  language  in  which  the  problems 
are  stated.  School  histories  befuddle  the  child's 
brain  by  an  obscure  style  of  writing.  The  following 
paragraph  is  taken  from  a  well-known  history 
written  for  children  from  ten  to  fourteen  years  of 
age:  "The  blockade  was  now  so  effectual  that  the 
prices  of  all  imported  goods  in  the  Confederate  States 
were  fabulous.  Led  by  the  enormous  profits  of  a 
successful  voyage,  foreign  merchants  were  con- 
stantly seeking  to  run  the  gantlet.  Their  swift 
steamers,  making  no  smoke,  long,  narrow,  low,  and  of 
a  mud  color,  occasionally  escaped  the  vigilance  of  the 
Federal  squadron."  This  is  a  style  that  an  adult 
might  use  in  addressing  mature  and  well-bred  people. 
But  the  average  pupil  of  the  fifth  grade  will  get  very 
little  content  from  "fabulous  prices,"  "running  the 
gantlet,"  and  "the  vigilance  of  the  Federal  squadron." 
Other  illustrations  of  difiicult  and  easy  writing 
will   readily   occur   to   the   reader.     Here   are   two 

specimens :  — 

Difficult 

"The  Hollander  still  displays  this  naivete  in  the 
expression  of  his  feelings,  though  almost  always,  too. 


22C^  THE   PRINCIPLES   (M'    TEACHING   READING 

he  exhibits  a  curious,  deep  resen'e,  thinking  more 
than  he  says  (though  he  can  be  frank  enough),  as  we 
often  discover  by  the  Hghtning  illumination  of  a 
remark  blurted  out  in  passion.  See  how  he  expresses 
his  ideal  in  naming  his  house  to-day,  showing  exactly 
how  much,  chiefly  of  comfort,  it  means  for  him. 
His  are  not  the  regrets  of  an  exile,  such  as  carry  our 
own  suburban  householder  back  with  some  longing  to 
his  childhood,  when  he  names  one  house  of  a  row 
in  a  BrLxton  or  Stoke  Newington  street  'Tiverton,' 
'Dunkeld,'  ' KiUiecrankie. ' "  ^ 

Easy 

"  And  every  year  he  became  more  beautiful  to  look 
at,  so  that  all  those  who  dwelt  in  the  village  were 
filled  with  wonder,  for,  while  they  were  swarthy  and 
black-haired,  he  was  white  and  delicate  as  sawn 
ivory,  and  his  curls  were  like  the  rings  of  the  daffodil. 
His  lips,  also,  were  like  the  petals  of  a  red  flower,  and 
his  eyes  were  like  violets  by  a  river  of  pure  water, 
and  his  body  like  the  narcissus  of  a  field  where  the 
mower  comes  not."  ^ 

'  Home  Life  in  Holland,  by  D.  S.  Meldrum,  The  Macmillan  Co.,  N.  Y., 
1911,  p.  13. 

2  The  Star  Child,  by  Oscar  Wilde,  Thomas  B.  Mosher,  Portland,  Me. 


CHAPTER   IX 
BIBLIOGRAPHY 

The  following  authorities  are  cited  or  quoted  in  the  text 
of  this  volume:  — 

1.  Arnold,  Sarah  Louise,  Learning  to  Read,  Silver,  Bur- 
dett  &  Co.,  1899. 

2.  Bain,  Alexander,  The  Senses  and  the  Intellect,  4th  ed. 

3.  Baker,    Thomas    0.,    The    Action    Primer,  American 

Book  Co. 

4.  Bagley,  W.  C,  The  Educative  Process,  The  Macmillan 
Co.,  1905. 

5.  Barnes,  Earl,  Studies  in  Education,  1896,  p.  15. 

6.  Bryant,  Sara  Cone,  How  to  Tell  Stories  to  Children, 
Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co. 

7.  Stories  to   Tell  to   Children,   Houghton,    Mifflin 

&  Co.,  1907. 

8.  BuRK,  Frederic,  in  Pedagogical  Seminary,  Vol.  6,  p.  5, 
on  Physical  Basis  of  Association. 

9.  Carpenter,  Baker  and  Scott,  The  Teaching  oj  English, 
Longmans,  Green,  &  Co.,  1903. 

10.  Chubb,  Percival,  The  Teaching  of  English,  The  Mac- 
millan Co.,  1909. 


2  22    THE  PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACHING    READING 

11.  CiARK,  S.  H.,  Ilcni'  to  Read    Aloud,  iniblishcd  by  the 

author,  Chicago  University,  1897. 

12.  How  to  Teach  Reading  in  the  Public  Schools,  Scott, 

Foresman  &  Co.,  Chicago,  1898. 

13.  CoHN,  Hkrmann,  The    Hygiene    of   the    Eye,  Midland 

Educational  Co.,  London  and  Birmingham,  1886. 

14.  CoLViN,  S.  S.,  r/zg  Learning  Proce55,  The  Macmillan  Co., 

1911. 

15.  Corson,    Hiram,    The   Aims   of  Literary   Study,   The 
Macmillan  Co.,  1895. 

16.  Dearborn,  Walter  F.,  The  Psychology  of  Reading,  The 

Science  Press,  N.  Y.,  1906. 

17.  Dexter  and  Garlick,   Psychology   in   the   Schoolroom, 

Longmans,  Green,  &  Co.,  1898. 

18.  Dewy,  John,    The   School   and   Society,   University   of 

Chicago  Press,  1899. 

19.  Dodge,  Raymond,  Visual  Perception  during  Eye  Move- 
ment, Psychological  Review,  Vol.  7,  p.  456. 

20.  Fulton  and  Trueblood,  Practical  Elements  of  Elocu- 
tion, Ginn  &  Co.,  Boston. 

21.  GuLiCK  and  Ayres,  Medical  Inspection  of  Schools,  N.  Y. 
Charities  Publication  Committee,  1908. 

22.  Hall,  G.    Stanley,    How    to    Teach    Reading,   D.    C. 

Heath  &  Co.,  1886. 

23.  HmsHELWOOD,  Professor,  in  Lancet,  February  8,  1902, 

Aphasia. 

24.  Hornbye,  Horn-Book,  London,  1622. 

25.  HuEY,  Edmund  B.,    The   Psychology    and   Pedagogy   of 

Reading,  The  Macmillan  Co.,  1908. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  223 

26.  Huxley,  Thomas,  Man's  Place  in  Nature. 

27.  James,  William,  The  Principles  of  Psychology,  Holt  & 

Co.,  1893,  Vol.  I,  p.  554. 

28.  JuDD,  Charles  H.,    Genetic    Psychology  for    Teachers, 
D.  Appleton  &  Co.,  1903. 

29.  KiRKPATRiCK,   E.   A.,  on  Children's  Reading,   in   The 

Northwestern  Monthly,  Dec,  1898,  and  Jan.  and  Mar., 
1899,  Lincoln,  Neb. 

30.  Fundamentals   of   Child  Study,   The  Macmillan 

Co.,  1903. 

31.  Ladd  and  Woodworth,  Elements  of  Physiological  Psy- 

chology, Scribner's  Sons,  191 1. 

32.  Ladd,   George  Trumbull,  Elements   of  Physiological 

Psychology,  Scribner's  Sons,  1901. 

33.  MacEwen,  Sir  William,  in  British  Medical  Journal, 

Vol.  2,  1888,  on  Aphasia. 

34.  McMuRRY,  Charles,   Special  Method  in   Reading  for 
the  Grades,  The  Macmillan  Co.,  1908. 

35.  Special  Method  in  the  Reading  of  English  Classics, 

The  Macmillan  Co.,  1903. 

36.  Meldrum,  D.  S.,  Home  Life  in  Holland,  The  Macmillan 
Co.,  1911. 

37.  Miller,  Hugh,  My  Schools  and  Schoolmates. 

38.  Milton,  John,  Tractate  on  Education. 

39.  MiNOT,  Charles  Sedgwick,  Vice-Presidential  Address, 
Science,  191 1. 

40.  O'Shea,  M.  v.,  Linguistic  Development  and  Education, 
The  Macmillan  Co.,  1907. 

41.  Reeder,    R.    R.,  Historical   Development    of   School 


224    THE   PRINXIPLES   OF  TEACHING   RE^VDING 

Readers  ami  of  Method  in  Teacliing  Reading,  Columbia 
University  Contributions  to  Philosophy,  Psychology,  and 
I'Aiucation,  Vol.  8,  no.  2,  The  Macmillan  Co.,  1900. 

42.  RmoT,  Til.,  The  Evolution  of  General  Ideas,  The  Open 
Court  Publi.shing  Co.,  1899. 

43.  RoM.VNES,  George  J.,  Mental  Evolution  in  Animals, 
D.  Appleton  &  Co.,  1893. 

44.  Shaw,  Edw.vrd  R.,    School    Hygiene,    The    Macmillan 

Co.,  1901. 

45.  SriiMER,  Edg.vr  Dubs,  The  Progressive  Road  to  Reading, 
Teachers'  Manual,  Silver,  Burdett  &  Co.,  1909,  by  Dr. 
Edgar  Dubs  Shimer,  Dr.  William  L.  Ettinger,  and 
Georgine  Burchill. 

46.  Smith,   T.  S.,   American  Jotirnal   of  Psychology,   July, 

1896. 

47.  Smythe,  E.  Louise,  Old  Time  Stories,  Werner  &  Co., 

Chicago,  1896. 

48.  Spencer,  Herbert,  Philosophy  of  Style,  D.  Appleton 
&  Co.,  N.  Y.,  1895. 

49.  Stebbins,  Genevieve,  Delsarte  System  of  Expression, 
N.  Y.,  1889. 

50.  Stout,  G.  F.,  Manual  of  Psychology,  Hinds  &  Noble, 
N.  Y.,  1899. 

51.  Thomson,  W.  Hanna,   Brain   and   Personality,   Dodd, 

Mead  &  Co.,  1907. 

52.  Tracy,    Frederick,  The  Psychology  of  Childhood,  D.  C. 

Heath  &  Co.,  1896. 

53.  VosTROVSKY,  Clara,  Study  of  Children's  Reading  Tastes, 

Pedagogical  Seminary,  Vol.  6,  p.  523. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  225 

54. A  Study  of  Children's  Stories  in  Studies  in  Edu- 
cation, by  Earl  Barnes,  1896,  p.  15. 

55.  Weber,  A.,  Ueber  die  Augenuntersuchungen  in  der 
hoheren  Schulen  zu  Darmstadt.  Referat  und  Memorial, 
erstatted  der  grossherzoge  Ministerial- Ahtheilung  filr 
Gesundheitspflege,  Marz,  1881. 

56.  Wharton,  William  Parker,  Experimental  Study  of 
Ideational  Types,  Thesis  for  Doctorate  in  Philosophy, 
New  York  University,  191 1. 

57.  WissLER,  Clark,  Interests  of  Children  in  Reading, 
Pedagogical  Seminary,  Vol.  5,  p.  523. 

58.  WiLDE,  Oscar,  The  Star  Child,  Thomas  B.  Mosher,  Port- 
land, Me. 

59.  Intentions,  Thomas  B.  Mosher,  Portland,  Me., 

1904. 

60.  Wyche,  Richard  Thomas,  Some  Great  Stories  and  How 
to  Tell  Them,  Newson  &  Co.,  N.  Y.,  1910. 


CHAPTER  X 

TOPICS   FOR    DISCUSSION 

1.  (a)  Describe  three  kinds  of  exercises  which 
should  be  used  in  teaching  children  to  read  before  a 
reading  book  is  placed  into  their  hands.  Give  a  psy- 
chological reason  for  each  exercise. 

(b)  Give,  \nth.  reasons,  specific  cautions  regarding 
the  use  of  phonic  work  in  the  first  half  year. 

2.  (a)  Describe  what  you  regard  as  a  good  pho- 
netic method  of  teaching  reading.  Give  a  reason  for 
each  feature  of  the  method  described. 

(b)  Describe  and  criticise  the  reading  material 
found  in  some  first  reader  now  in  use.  Mention  the 
book. 

3.  "The  owls  were  talking  to  each  other.  They 
were  talking  in  their  native  language  and  laughing  at 
each  other. 

"  Hiawatha  heard  the  hooting  of  the  owls  and  he 
was  afraid.     'What  is  that  ?'  he  cried  in  terror. 

"Nokomis  laughed  and  said,  'That  is  but  the  owl 
and  the  owlet  in  the  pine  trees.     They  are  talking 

226 


TOPICS   FOR  DISCUSSION  227 

to  each  other  in  their  native  language.  The  old  owl 
is  scolding,  and  the  owlet  is  laughing  at  the  moon.'  " 
Assuming  that  the  italicized  words  have  not  oc- 
curred previously  in  the  reading  of  the  class,  how 
would  you  lead  children  in  the  second  year  of  school, 

(a)  to  pronounce   and   to   recognize   these   words; 

(b)  to  understand  their  meaning  ? 

4.  Describe,  in  detail,  proper  methods  of  correcting 
these  habitual  faults  in  pronunciation :  (a)  dem  for 
them;   (b)  wite  for  white. 

5.  (a)  Give  ten  phonetic  elements  that  should  be 
taught  early  in  the  first  year  of  school.  Give  three 
considerations  governing  your  choice. 

{b)  Outline  in  three  steps  an  exercise  on  the  pho- 
nogram in. 

6.  (a)  In  a  second-year  class,  what  preparation 
should  be  made  for  the  reading  of  the  poem  printed 
on  page  131  (mention  three  particulars)  ? 

{b)  Suggest  three  aids,  aside  from  repetition,  in 
the  memorizing  of  this  song. 

(c)  In  an  eighth-year  class,  what  points  with  re- 
gard to  the  versification  of  this  song  may  properly 
be  developed  ? 

7.  Give  in  detail  an  exercise,  suitable  for  the  first 
year,  on  the  sound  "sk,"  giving  in  parallel  columns, 


22&         VKWCIVLI.S   OF   TEACHING    READING 

(a)  what  the  teacher  is  to  do,  and  (b)  wliat  the  pujiils 
arc  to  do. 

8.  It  has  been  proposed  that  in  teaching  beginners 
to  read,  the  teacher  should  begin  by  using  the  fol- 
lowing sentence  :  '*  Three  little  pigs  went  for  a  walk." 
Criticise  this  procedure,  giving  reasons. 

9.  (a)  State,  with  reasons,  the  principles  that 
should  guide  you  in  selecting  the  words  to  be  taught 
to  a  class  of  beginners  in  reading. 

(b)  State,  with  reasons,  your  method  of  teaching 
these  words. 

(c)  Name,  with  reasons,  the  letters  whose  sounds 
you  should  teach  first,  and  describe  your  method  of 
teaching  these  sounds. 

10.  (a)  Regarding  a  course  of  lessons  in  reading, 
in  one  of  the  early  years  of  the  elementary  school, 
briefly  indicate,  with  illustrations,  two  effective  w^ays 
of  leading  pupils  to  understand  the  meaning  of  new 
words. 

(b)  What  considerations  would  guide  you  in 
selecting  passages  to  be  memorized,  and  how  would 
you  lead  pupils  to  commit  to  memory  such  passages  ? 

(c)  Give  four  directions,  such  as  might  be  helpful 
to  a  young  teacher,  for  guiding  pupils  to  read  with 
proper  expression. 


TOPICS   FOR  DISCUSSION  229 

(d)  State  in  detail  what  manual  work  you  deem  it 
profitable  to  introduce  in  connection  with  the  study 
of  some  specified  selection. 

11.  Describe  in  outline  a  reading  lesson  in  the  third 
or  the  seventh  year  of  the  elementary  school,  giving 
reasons  for  each  exercise,  and  indicating  practicable 
correlations  with  other  subjects. 

12.  How  may  children  in  a  sixth-year  grade  be 
taught  the  meaning  of  new  words?  Mention  a 
variety  of  ways  and  tell,  with  reasons,  under  what 
circumstances  each  way  may  properly  be  used. 
Illustrate. 

13.  With  regard  to  methods  of  teaching  the  mean- 
ing and  use  of  words  in  the  seventh  and  eighth  years, 
state  under  five  heads  the  points  that  should  be 
brought  out  in  a  conference  of  the  teachers  of  the 
grades  mentioned.     Illustrate. 

14.  Treating  each  word  separately,  tell  how  you 
would  impress  on  pupils  the  spelling  of  the  follow- 
ing words :  separate,  business,  led,  benefited,  pronun- 
ciation. 

15.  {a)  Describe  and  illustrate  two  ways  in  which 
a  teacher  may  properly  lead  the  children  in  grade  3A 
to  understand  the  meaning  of  new  words.  (In  illus- 
trating use  two  kinds  or  types  of  words.) 


230         PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACH  INC.    READING 

(/>)  Stale  in  general  wliat  words  should  be  selected 
for  such  study. 

16.  (a)  State  the  principles  which  should  guide  a 
teacher  in  selecting  words  for  a  spelling  list. 

(b)  How  should  homonyms  be  taught  ?  Illus- 
trate. 

(c)  How  would  you  lead  children  to  discriminate 
between  the  words  Jiope,  expect,  suppose? 

17.  Show  the  grade  to  which  each  of  the  following 
is  adapted  and  the  particular  purpose  that  each  serves: 
Grimm's  "Fairy  Tales";  Arnold's  "Sohrab  and 
Rustum" ;  Alcott's  "Little  Women"  ;  Pyle's  "Story 
of  King  Arthur  and  His  Knights";  Ruskin's  "King 
of  the  Golden  River";  Stevenson's  "The  Wind"; 
Eggleston's  "Stories  of  Great  Americans." 

18.  What  is  the  main  purpose  of  (i)  oral  reading? 
(2)  silent  reading  ? 

19.  What  are  the  essential  characteristics  of  sup- 
plementary reading  for  the  primary  grades  ? 

20.  What  is  the  purpose  of  emphasis  ?  Give  two 
methods  of  emphasis. 

21.  What  relation  does  a  child's  experience  or 
environment  bear  to  his  ability  to  read  a  given 
selection  ?  Illustrate  by  means  of  some  well-known 
selection. 


TOPICS  FOR  DISCUSSION  231 

22.  Discuss  the  value  of  calling  on  a  child  to  give 
in  his  own  words  the  thought  of  a  passage  that  has 
just  been  read. 

23.  Mark  with  proper  diacritics :  caprice,  rough, 
legal,  desert  (verb),  furlough. 

24.  Contrast  analytic  and  synthetic  methods  of 
teaching  a  child  to  read.     Illustrate. 

25.  Show  in  what  respects  learning  to  speak  and 
learning  to  read  are  alike,  and  wherein  the  two  are 
unlike. 

26.  Discuss  the  question  of  lip  movement  in  read- 
ing, giving  your  opinion,  with  reasons,  as  to  its  value 
or  hindrance. 

27.  Show  the  value  of  dramatization  as  a  school 
exercise,  and  point  out  some  of  its  dangers. 

28.  Are  diacritical  marks  desirable  or  necessary 
in  the  beginnings  of  reading  ?     Give  reasons. 

29.  Give  an  outline  of  the  principal  topics  properly 
treated  under  the  head  of  the  hygiene  of  reading. 

30.  What  is  the  educational  value  of  reading  as  a 
school  subject  ?     Specify  its  several  functions. 

31.  Discuss  the  relation  and  relative  value  of 
impression  and  expression  in  education. 

32.  What  is  the  significance  of  gesture  in  relation 
to  human  speech  ?    Illustrate. 


23:         PRlNCirLES   OF  TEACIUNG   READING 

;^^.  Define  and  give  the  use  of  hornbook,  sampler, 
battledore,  in  connection  with  reading. 

34.  Characterize  in  detail  a  good  reading  lesson  in 
a  second-year  grade. 

35.  Explain  a  good  method  of  stimulating  interest 
in  good  but  difiicult  subject-matter  in  a  fourth-year 
class. 

36.  Discuss  the  value  of  reading  to  children  in 
lower  and  higher  grades. 

37.  What  is  the  value  of  story-telling  in  the  pri- 
mary grades  ?  Specify  some  of  the  quahties  of  a  well- 
told  story. 


INDEX 


Abell,  Adelaide  M.,  66. 
Abstract  of  reading,  194. 
Accommodation  in  vision,  212. 
Adaptations  of  reading  matter, 

97- 
Aim,  definite,  in  reading,  140. 
Alexia,  42. 

Allusions,  teaching  of,  138. 
Alphabet,  our,  81. 
Alphabetic  method,  115. 

forbidden  in  Prussia,  117. 
Amount  read,  by  pupils,  171,192. 

to  pupils,  178. 

by  best  schools,  184. 
Analysis,  of  reading  test,  192. 

of  words,  78. 
Analytic  method  of  reading,  118. 
Aphasias,  40-55. 

motor,  42. 
Apraxias,  43. 
Arabs,  their  gestures,  4. 
Arnold,  Sarah  Louise,  83. 
Association,  laws  of,  16-20. 

reading  a  form  of,  14. 

voluntary,  20. 

physical  basis  of,  38. 
Astigmatism,  213. 
Asymbolia,  49. 

Babbling  stage  of  language,  5-7. 
Bagley,  W.  C,  30. 
Bain,  Alexander,  45. 
Baker,  Thomas  0.,  71. 
Barnes,  Earl,  87. 
Basedow,  116. 
Battledore,  113. 
Beginnings  of  reading,  1 20. 
a  device  for,  127. 


Blackboard  reading,  203. 
Blend,  the,  83,  121,  126. 
Books  used  in  reading,  by  chil- 
dren, 172. 
to  children,  178. 
Booth,  Edwin,  146. 
Brain,  function,  localization  of, 
40. 
how  a  word  gets  recorded  on, 

47- 
Broca's  Convolution,  43,  48,  55. 
Browning,      Incident      of      the 

French  Camp,  144. 
Brumbaugh,  Martin  G.,  82. 
Bryant,  Sara  Cone,  163. 
Buno,  116. 
Burk,  Frederic,  39. 

Calendered  paper,  202. 
Carpenter,    Baker,    and    Scott, 

143,  144- 
Cattell,  Dr.  J.  McKeen,  viii. 
Chattering  stage  of  language,  8. 
Children,    kind   of   words   used 

by  them,  9. 
number    of    words    used    by 

them,  II. 
Chubb,    Percival,    94,    98,    99, 

104,  134,  140,  141,  150,  164. 
Ciliary  muscle,  211. 
Clark,  S.  H.,  148,  150. 
Climax,  154. 
Cohn,  Hermann,  205,  211,  212, 

213,  214. 
CoUege  entrance  board,  108. 

requirements,  105. 
Colvin,  S.  S.,  29,  30. 
Comenius,  117,  119. 


233 


J  34 


INDEX 


Congruity,  lo. 

Content,  method  of  imparting, 

128. 
Contrast,  154. 
Corson,  Hiram,  145. 
Criticism  of  class  reading,  154, 

157- 

Dearborn,  Walter  F.,  viii,  59-62, 

205-206. 
Definitions    of    reading    terms, 

120. 
Delsarte,  system  of  expression,  4. 
Device  for  beginners  in  reading, 

127. 
Dewey,  John,  1,32. 
Dexter  and  Garlick,  14,  17. 
Diacritical  marks,  81. 
Dictionary  habit,  195. 
Diseases  of  the  eye,  212. 
Doctor,  the  school,  214. 
Dodge,  Raymond,  61. 

Ear,  literature  for  the,  143. 

Economy,  mental,  in  silent  read- 
ing, 28. 

Education,  half-brained,  56. 

Educational  Review,  viii. 

Eliot,  Charles  W.,  100. 

Emerson,   R.   W.,   The   Moun- 
tain and  the  Squirrel,  131. 

Emmetropic,  212. 

Emotion  in  reading,  153. 

Emotional  stage  of  language,  2. 

Emphasis,  152. 

Ends  of  reading,  77. 

Errors,  correcting,  126,  154,  157. 

Expression,  141. 

and  impression,  129. 

Expressive  impulse,  i. 

Eye-movements  in  reading,  60- 
65- 

Figures  of  speech,  teaching  of, 
138. 


Fiske,  Thomas  S.,  loS. 
Fissure  of  Rolando,  40. 

of  Sylvius,  40. 
Frenchmen,  their  gestures,  4. 
Frequency,  in  association,  18. 
Fulton  and  Trueblood,  148. 

Gesture,  importance  of,  3. 

Goethe,  31. 

Grammar,  figures,  and  allusions, 

138. 
Grouping,    as    an    clement    in 

reading,  151. 
Gulick  and  Ayres,  214. 

Hall,  G.  Stanley,  86,  95-98,  115- 
116,  130. 

Harris,  Benjamin,  and  the  New 
England  Primer,  100. 

Henry  \1\\,  primer,  no. 

High  school  reading,  105,  149. 

Hinshehvood,  Professor,  49. 

History  of  reading,  109,  120. 

Holmes,  Oliver  Wendell,  Cham- 
bered Nautilus,  138. 
Old  Ironsides,  143. 

Home  study,  215. 

Horn-book,  113. 

Hornbye's  horn-book,  113. 

Huey,  Edmund  B.,  25,  59,  62, 
66,  67,  68,  205. 

Huxley,  Thomas,  13. 

Hypermetropic,  212. 

Ickelsamer,  109,  116. 
Ideational  types,  30. 
Illustration    of    the    process    of 
learning  to  read,  21. 

influence  of  Comenius,  1 19. 

in  relation  to  hygiene,  204. 
Imitative  impulse,  i. 
Impression  and  expression,  129. 

total,  in  reading,  135. 
Information,  reading  for,  loi. 
Inspiration,  reading  for,  102. 


INDEX 


235 


Institutes  of  Oratory,  Quintilian, 

117. 
Interpretation,  as  an  element  in 

reading,  193. 
Interest  in  reading,  19,    87,    89, 

92,  93- 

Jacotot,  118. 
James,  William,  15. 
Judd,  Charles  H.,  64. 

K.'s  diary,  6-11. 
Kirkpatrick,  E.  A.,  8,  11,  12,  90, 
91. 

Ladd  and  Woodworth,  viii,  43, 

48,  49,  54,  55,  56,  58. 
Language,   comprehension    pre- 
cedes use,  6. 
stages  of,  2. 
visual,  12. 
Laws  of  association,  18. 
Left-and-right-handedness,     53- 

55- 
Letters    recognized    in    groups, 

62-64. 
Light,  sufficient,  in  reading,  199. 
Line,  length  of,  205. 
Lip-movers  in  reading,  34,  35, 

66,  67. 
Literary    style    in    relation    to 

hygiene,  216. 
Literature  for  the  ear,  143-145. 

reading  as,  103. 
Localization  of  brain  function, 

40. 
Longfellow,  The  Arrow  and  the 

Song,  160. 
Lucy  Gray,  132. 
Lyrics,  how  to  teach,  130. 

MacDougall,  Robert,  viii,  35. 
MacEwen,  Sir  William,  51,  52. 
Machines,  reading,  119. 
Mallery,  on  gesture,  5. 


Material,    reading,    history    of, 

109. 
Meaning   of  words,   51,  66-68, 

84. 
Meldrum,  D.  S.,  220. 
Memorizing,  159. 
Mental  economy  in  silent  read- 
ing, 28. 
Methods   of    teaching   reading, 
109-163. 

history  of,,  109-1 20. 

A-B-C,  115. 

phonic,  116. 

word-building,  117. 

write-read,  117. 

analytic,  118. 

imparting  content,  128. 
Miller,  Cyrus  C,  114. 
Miller,  Hugh,  102. 
Milton,  John,  96,  141. 
Minot,  Charles  S.,  217. 
Mountain,  The,  and  the  Squirrel, 

131- 

Muscular  movements  in  read- 
ing, 59- 

Myopia,  a  school  disease,   213. 

New  England  Primer,  no. 

Orbis  Pictus,  illustrated  school 

book,  iig. 
O'Shea,  M.  V.,  25,  33,  34. 

Paper,  tinge  and  surface,  202. 
Pestalozzi,  117. 
Phonetic  analysis,  78,  81. 

synthesis,  83. 

reading,  121. 

word,  121. 
Phonic  and  phonetic,  120. 
Phonogram  defined,  121. 
Physical    basis    of    association, 
38. 

of  a  word,  44. 

of  the  meaning  of  words,  51. 


236 


INDEX 


Physiologj*    of    reading,    3S-6Q, 

73-7^- 
Plalo,      describes       write-read 

method,  117. 
riay  impulse,  2. 
Poetry,  lyric,  130. 
narrative.  131. 
Posture  in  reading.  68. 
Primary  reading,  mechanics  of, 

77- 
as  literature,  85. 
lyrics,  130. 

narrative  poems,  131. 
Primer,  the  New  England,   no, 

III. 
Primers,  length  of  line,  206. 

size  of  type.  210. 
Principles  of  reading,  70-76. 
Print  or  script  in  the  beginning, 

80. 
Pronunciation,  81. 
Psychology    of    reading,    1-37, 

70-73- 
Pupils,  reading  to,  158. 

Quahty,  quantity,  and  time,  180. 
Quantitative  study  of  reading, 

165. 
Quintilian,  describes  write-read 

method,  117. 

Rapidity  in  reading,  33. 
Ratichius,  117. 

Reading   teacher,   successful,   a 
rare  treasure,  v. 

psychology  of,  i. 

signs  of.  14,  15. 

a  form  of  association,  14, 16-20. 

illustration  of  the  process,  21- 

silent,  25. 

mental  economy  in,  28. 
from  printed  to  spoken  word, 
thence  to  idea,  30. 


as  self-expression,  32. 

rapidity  in,  },ti,. 

lip-movers  in,  50. 

muscular  movements  in,  59. 

eye-movements  in,  60-65. 

posture  in,  68. 

end  of,  77. 

twofold  aspect  of,  78. 

relation  to  other  studies,  78. 

primary,  mechanics  of,  77. 

primary,  as  hterature,  85. 

what?  85,  104. 

sex  differences  in,  88,  90. 

grammar,  mechanics  of,  99. 

supplementary,  100. 

grammar,  as  literature,  103. 

for  college  entrance,  105. 

history  of  material,  109. 

machines,  119. 

beginnings  of,  120,  127. 

content,  methods  of  impart- 
ing, 128. 

impression  and  expression,  129. 

total  impression,  135. 

word  study,  136. 

study    of    figures    and    allu- 
sions, 138. 

definite  aim  in,  140. 

as  expression,  141. 

in  high  school,  149. 

criticism  of,  154. 

standard  of  a  good  recitation 
in,  155- 

to  pupils,  158,  177,  178. 

quantitative  study  of,  165. 

total  amount,  171. 

relation  of  quantity,  quaUty, 
and  time,  181. 

amount  read  by  best  schools, 
184. 

test  of,  191. 

aloud,  193. 

relative  value  of,  197. 

hygiene  of,  199-220. 
Recency  in  association,  18. 


INDEX 


237 


Recognition  of  speaking  vocab- 
ulary, 77. 

Reeder,  R.  R.,  112,  114. 

Representation  of  phonetic  ele- 
ments, 81. 

Ribot,  Th.,  5. 

Rochow,  109. 

Romanes,  George  J.,  67. 

Sampler,  114. 
School  doctor,  214. 
Scribner's  Sons,  Charles,  viii. 
Script  or  print  in  the  beginning, 

80. 
Seguin,  54. 
Sentences,  151. 

Shakespeare,    Where    the    Bee 
Sucks,  131. 
Macbeth,  139. 
Hamlet,  145-147. 
■  reading  aloud  of,  1 50. 
Shaw,  Edward  R.,  208. 
Shimer,  Edgar   Dubs,   viii,    26, 

30,  31,  32. 

Sight  words,  defined,  121. 
principles  governing  selection 

of,  121. 
teaching  of,  123. 

Silent  reading,  25. 

Size  of  type  in  primers,  210. 

Smith,  T.  S.,  64. 

Social  impulse,  i. 

Sounds,  principles  governing  se- 
lection of,  122. 
teaching  of,  125. 

Spacing  and  size  of  type,  208. 

Speller,  Noah  Webster's,  112. 

Spelling,  85. 

Spencer,  Herbert,  218. 

Stages  of  infantile  language,  2. 

Standard  of  a  good  recitation  in 
reading,  155,  195. 

Stebbins,  Genevieve,  4. 

Story-telling,  162. 

Stout,  G.  F.,  46,  47. 


Study,  quantitative,  of  read- 
ing, 165. 

Style,  literaiy,  in  relation  to 
hygiene,  216. 

Subordination  in  reading,  151. 

Supplementary  reading,  100. 

Surface  of  paper,  202. 

Synthesis  of  sounds,  83. 

Talking  stage  of  language,  8. 
Taste,  reading  to  cultivate,  103. 
Taylor,  Sir  Henry,  on  reading 

Shakespeare  aloud,  150. 
Test  of  reading,  191. 

every  pupil,  196. 
Thomson,  William  H.,   40,   49, 

55,  57- 
Time  in  relation  to  quality  and 

quantity,  181. 
Tinge  of  paper,  202. 
Total  amount  read,  171. 

impression  in  reading,  135. 
Tracy,  Frederick,  2,  9,  10. 
Transition  in  reading,  152. 
Twofold  aspect  of  reading,  77. 
Tyler,  on  gesture,  5. 
Type,  size  of,  and  spacing,  208, 

210. 

Unit  of  measure,  in  quantitative 
study  of  reading,  166. 

Value,  relative,  of  reading,  197. 
Visual  language,  12,  13. 
Vividness  of  impression  in  asso- 
ciation, 18. 
Vocabularies,  children's,  9,   10, 

77- 
Voluntary  association,  20, 

Vostrovsky,  Clara,  87. 

Vulpius,  39. 

Wallace,  Alfred  Russell,  2. 
Ward,  Edward  G.,  82. 
Weber,  A.,  205. 


^38 


INDEX 


Webster.  Noah,  his  speller,  112. 
Weisz-e,  Christian  Felix,  1 10. 
Wernitke,  4^. 

\\harlon,  William  Parker,  30. 
What  to  read,  85-97. 
Willie,  Oscar,  145,  220. 
Wissler.  Clark.  89. 
Word  study.  136. 
Words,  kind  used  by  children,  9. 
number  used  by  children,  11. 


number  tauj^ht  first  year,  170. 

physical  basis  of,  44. 

how   recorded   on   the    brain. 

47- 
physical  basis  of  meaning  of, 

51- 
Wordsworth,  We  are  Seven,  13, 

Lucy  Gray,  132. 
Write-rciicl  method,  117. 
Wyche,  Richard  Thomas,  164. 


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KJiiiuuJ  U.  Huey,  of  ihc  Weslcru  University  of  I'ciinsylvania. 

L'iotk.     lamo.     xvi  •>(■  4tX)Pagti.     %i.40Hft. 

JONKS,  tluvK  M.,  LEARY,  Eleanor  C,  and  QUISH,  Acnks  E.  Teaching  Children 
to  Study.     The  Group  System  applied. 

i::ustrattJ.     Cloth.     vni+ IQJ /'aget.     i2mo.     $.8o  net, 

KILPATRICK,  Van  Evrie.    Departmental  Teaching  in  Elementary  Schools. 

Cloth.    I2>H0.     a- Hi  +  i^  pages.    Jtimo.    $Ao  net. 

KIRKPATRICK,  Edwin  A.  Fundamentals  of  Child  Study.  By  Professor  Edwin 
A.  Kirkpatrick,  Priucipal  of  Sute  Normal  School,  Fitchburg,  Mass. 

Cloth,    jsmo.     j:j:i  +  ^4  pages.     $r.2j  net. 

Genetic  Psychology.  CUth.    Arv  +  S73 pages.    $i.3jnet. 

LAURIE,  S.  S,    Institutes  of  Education. 

3d  ed.     Cloth.    xit-¥  yit  pages.     f,i.qonet. 

MAJOR,  David  R.  First  Steps  in  Mental  Growth.  A  Series  of  Studies  in  the  Psy- 
chology of  Infancy.  By  David  R.  M.ijor,  Professor  of  Education  in  the  Ohio  State 
University.  Cloth,    xiv  +  ^bo  pages.    j3mo.     $i.3jnet. 

THE    McMURRY   SERIES  Ea.cK  doth,  l2mo» 

General  Method 

The  Elements  of  General  Method.    By  Charles  A.  McMurry. 

333  pages.    $.()Onet. 

The  Method  of  the  Recitation.    By  Charles  A.  McMurry  and  Frank  M.  McMurry, 

Professor  of  the  Theory  and  Practice  of  Teaching,  Teachers  College,  Columbia  Uni- 
versity. xi+32q  pages.    $.()0  net. 

Special  Method.     By  Charles  A.  McMurry, 

Special  Method  in  Primary  Reading  and  Oral  Work  with  Stories. 

vii-v  103 pages.  $.6o  net. 

Special  Method  in  the  Reading  of  English  Classics.     vi  +  254 pages.  $.7j  net. 

Special  Method  in  Language  in  the  Eight  Grades.    pm  +  iq2  pages.  $.70  net. 

Special  Method  in  History.                                            vii+  2gi  pages.  $.7j  net. 

Special  Method  in  Arithmetic,                                    vzi  +  22s pages.  $.70  net. 

Special  Method  in  Geography.                                       xi-¥  217 pages.  $.70  net. 

Special  Method  in  Elementary  Science.                       ix  +  275  pages.  $.7s  net. 

Nature  Study  Lessons  for  Primary  Grades.    By  Mrs.  Lida  B.  McMurry,  with 

an  Introduction  by  Charles  A.  McMurry.  xi  +  iqi pages.     %.bo  net. 

Course  of  Study  in  the  Eight  Grades. 

Vol.1.     Grades  f  to  IV.         vit  + 23b pages.    $.7^  net. 
Vol.11.     Grades  V  to  VIII.    v  + 226 pages.    $.73  net. 

MOVROE,  Pact..  A  Brief  Course  in  the  History  of  Education.  By  Paul  Monroe, 
Ph.D.,  Professor  in  the  History  of  Education,  Teachers  College,  Columbia  Univer- 
sity. Cloth.    Svo.    xviii+ 40Q pages.    $i.2j  net 


A  LIST  OF  BOOKS  FOR  TEACHERS—  Co/ithued 


MONROE,  Paul.    A  Text-book  in  the  History  of  Education. 

Cloth.    X X Hi  +  277  pages.    lamo.     $i.qo  nei, 

A  Source  Book  of  the  History  of  Education.     For  the  Greek  and  Roman  Period. 

Cloth,    xiii+^i^ pages.    8vo.     $2.2j  net. 

O'SHEA,  M.  V.  Dynamic  Factors  in  Education.  By  M,  V.  O'Shea,  Professor  of 
the  Science  and  Art  of  Education,  University  of  Wisconsin. 

Clotk.    zaino.    xiu+ 330 pages.    $i.3j  net 

Linguistic  Development  and  Education. 

Cloth,     izmo.    XVU  +  347  pages.    $i.2j  net. 

PARK,  Joseph  C.  Educational  Woodworking  for  Home  and  School.  By  Joseph  C. 
Park,  State  Normal  and  Training  School,  Oswego,  N.Y. 

Cloth.     l2nto.     xiii +210  pages,  illus.    $1.00  net. 

PERRY,  Arthur  C.  The  Management  of  a  City  School.  By  Arthur  C.  Perry,  Jr., 
Ph.D.,  Principal  of  Public  School,  No.  85,  Brooklyn,  N.Y. 

Cloth.     i2mo..    via  +  3^0 pages.     $I.3J  net. 

ROWE,  Stuart  H.  The  Physical  Nature  of  the  Child.  By  Dr.  Stuart  H.  Rowe, 
Professor  of  Psychology  and  the  History  of  Education,  Training  School  for  Teach- 
ers, Brooklyn,  N.Y.  Cloth.     l2mo.     vi+2llpages.    $.qo  net. 

ROYCE,  JosiAH,  Outlines  of  Psychology.  An  Elementary  Treatise  with  Some  Prac 
tical  Applications.  By  Josiah  Royce,  Professor  of  the  History  of  Philosophy  in 
Harvard  University.  Cloth.     i2mo.     xxvii  + 3q2  pages.     %i.qonet. 

SHAW,  Edward  R.    School  Hygiene.     By  the  late  Edward  R.  Shaw. 

Cloth,     vz'i  +  2JJ pages.     i2mo.     $1.00  net. 

SHURTER,  Edwin  DuBois.  The  Rhetoric  of  Oratory.  By  the  Associate  Professor 
of  Public  Speaking  in  the  University  of  Texas. 

Clotk.    323  pages.    i2mo.    $1.10  net. 

SINCLAIR,  S.  B.  and  Tracy  F.  Introductory  Educational  Psychology.  A  Book 
for  Teachers  in  Training.  Cloth.     180  pages.     $  .qo  net. 

SMITH,  David  E.  The  Teaching  of  Elementary  Mathematics.  By  David  E.  Smith, 
Professor  of  Mathematics,  Teachers  College,  Columbia  University. 

Cloth.     XV  +  312  pages.     i2ino.     $1.00  tiet. 

SNEDDEN  AND  ALLEN.  School  Reports  and  School  Efficiency.  By  David  S. 
Snedden,  PhD.,  and  William  H.  Allen,  Ph.D.  For  the  New  York  Committee  on 
Physical  Welfare  of  School  Children.        Cu>fh.     jsnto.     xi+ 183 pages.     $i.jo  net. 

VANDEWALKER,  Nina  C.  The  Kindergarten  in  American  Education.  By  Nina 
C.  Vandewalker,  Director  of  Kindergarten  Training  Department,  Milwaukee  State 
Normal  School.  Cloth,     xiii  +  274 pages.     Portr.,  index,  i2mo.     $l.2Snet. 

WARNER,  Francis.    The  Study  of  Children  and  Their  School  Training.    By 

Francis  Warner.  Cloth,     xix  +  264 />ages.     i2nio.     $1.00  net. 

WINTERBURN  and  BARR.  Methods  in  Teaching.  Being  the  Stockton  Methods 
in  Elementary  Schools.  By  Mrs.  Rosa  V.  Winterbuni,  of  Los  Angeles,  and 
James  A.  Barr,  Superintendent  of  Schools  at  Stockton,  Cal. 

Cloth.    xii+ 3J3  pages,    izmo.    $i.SJ  net. 


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